Vetrii IAS Study Circle The Best Academy for IAS & TNPSC Exams TT NN PP SS CC CURRENT AFFAIRS
JUNE - 2018
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My Dear Aspirants,
Greetings to all of you! “What we think we become” said Gautama Buddha. We all have dreams. To turn dreams into reality it takes a lot of determination, dedication, self discipline and hard work.
We at VETRII IAS Study Circle are committed to provide the right guidance, quality coaching and help every aspirant to achieve his or her life’s cherished goal of becoming a civil servant.
The class room coaching at VETRII IAS Study Circle is meticulously planned to equip the aspirants with all the relevant facts and fundamentals of the subjects. Further the VETRII IAS Study Circle Study material aim to support the candidate by providing the most relevant study material in a comprehensive manner.
Wishing You All The Very Best !!
M. SHUNMUGAM DIRECTOR Vetrii IAS Study Circle. TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
CONTENT
SL.NO TITLE PAGE NO
1. Important Days 1
2. International Affairs 3
3. National Affairs 16
4. Indian Polity 34
5. Tamilnadu 36
6. Economy 38
7. Science and Technology 41
8. Summit and Conference 43
9. Honours and Awards 45
10. Appointments 50
11. Personality 54
12. Schemes 56
13. Sports 59
14. Defence 61
15. General Knowledge 63
16. June Month Questions 78
9600124042/ 9840097666 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
IMPORTANT DAYS
JUNE 1- WORLD MILK DAY
Established by : Food and Agriculture Organisation First Observed : 2001 Theme : Drink move be strong
JUNE 1- GLOBAL DAY OF PARENTS
Established by : United Nation General Assembly First Observed : 2012
JUNE 3- WORLD BICYCLE DAY
Established by : United Nations First Observed : 2018 Theme : Cycling For Fitness
JUNE (4-8) FINANCIAL LITERACY WEEK
Established by : Financial Literacy Counsellors First Observed : 2017 Theme : Customer Protection
JUNE 5- WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
Established by : United Nations General Assembly First Observed : 1974 Theme : Beat plastic pollution Celebrated : New Delhi
JUNE 8- WORLD OCEAN DAY
Established by : United nations general Assembly First Observed : 2008 Theme : Preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for a healthy ocean’.
JUNE – 13 ALBINISM AWARENESS DAY
Established by : United Nations Human Rights Council First Observed : 2013
JUNE 14 -WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY
Established by : World Health Organisation First Observed : 2004
Theme : Be There For Someone Else. Give Blood. Share Life
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JUNE 15- WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY
Established by : United Nations General Assembly First observed : 2011 Theme : Moving from Awareness to Action Through a Human Rights Based Approach
JUNE 19 – ELIMINATION SEXUAL VIOLENCE
Established by : United Nations General Assembly First Observed : 2015 Theme : The Plight and Rights of Children Born of War
JUNE 20 – WORLD RUFUGEE DAY
Established by : United Nations General Assembly First Observed : 2000 Theme : “Now More Than Ever, We Need to Stand with Refugees.”
JUNE 21- INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA Established by : United Nations General Assembly First Observed : 2015 Theme : “Yoga for peace“
JUNE – 22 INTERNATIONAL MUSIC DAY
Established by : French Minister Of culture First Observed : 1982
JUNE 25- DAY OF THE SEAFARER
Established by : International Maritime Organisation First Observed : 2010 Theme : Seafarer Wellbeing
JUNE 26- INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST DRUG ABUSE
Established by : United Nations General Assembly First Observed : 2016 Theme : "Listen First - Listening to children and youth is the first step to help them grow healthy and safe."
JUNE 29 - NATIONAL STATISTICS DAY
Established by : Ministry of Statistics And Programme Implementation First Observed : 2007 Theme : “Quality Assurance in Official Statistics”
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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
PM LAUNCHED INTERNATIONAL RUPAY CARD, BHIM APP AND UPI IN SINGAPORE
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three Indian digital payment systems - RuPay, BHIM app and UPI by SBI at the 'Business, Innovation and Community Event' in Singapore. India's RuPay digital payments system was linked up with Singapore's 33-year old Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS). The move will enable RuPay users to make payments at all of NETS acceptance points across Singapore.
BRICS NATIONS REAFFIRM NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE REFORM OF UN
BRICS nations have reaffirmed the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, to make it more effective and efficient. The grouping stressed the need to increase the representation of the developing countries so that UNSC can adequately respond to global challenges. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is on a five-day visit to South Africa, attended the BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting in Pretoria. After the meeting, the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa recalled the 2005 World Summit Outcome document and reaffirmed the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN.
BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national
economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Originally the first four were grouped as "BRIC" (or "the BRICs"), before the induction of South Africa in 2010. The BRICS members are known for their significant influence on regional affairs; all are members of G20. Since 2009, the BRICS nations have met annually at formal summits. China hosted the 9th BRICS summit in Xiamen on September 2017, while South Africa will do so for the 10th BRICS summit on July 2018. The term does not include countries such as South Korea, Mexico and Turkey for which other acronyms and group associations were later created.
FRENCH SWIMMER BEGINS RECORD PACIFIC CROSSING ATTEMPT
A French swimmer set off from Japan aiming to become the first person to swim across the Pacific Ocean. Ben Lecomte will swim for eight hours a day for more than six months as he heads towards the US west coast. He is hoping to raise awareness for climate change.
A team of scientists will conduct research during the almost 8,850- kilometre swim. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 3 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
INDIA AND DENMARK SIGN MOU
Indian and Denmark signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Sustainable and Smart Urban Development The MoU will create employment in the areas of integrated solid waste management including waste to energy, sustainable transport systems, water and sanitation management, energy efficiency, resource mobilization The objective of this MoU is to promote bilateral cooperation in the field of sustainable and smart urban development on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit through the exchange of knowledge, institutional cooperation, research and development and commercial relations on related issues.
INDIA BEAT KENYA TO LIFT INTERCONTINENTAL CUP FOOTBALL TITLE
India lifted the Intercontinental Cup football title. In the summit clash in Mumbai, they defeated Kenya 2-nil. Both the goals were netted by skipper Sunil Chhetri. He gave India the lead in the eighth minute before scoring the second goal in the 29th minute. Sunil Chhetri become the joint second highest international goal scorer among active players along with Argentine superstar Lionel Messi with his 64th strike for the country against Kenya.
The Intercontinental Cup, also known as European/South American Cup, and also Toyota
Cup from 1980 to 2004 for commercial reasons by agreement with the automaker, was an official international football competition endorsed by the Union of European Football
Associations (UEFA) contested between representative clubs from these confederations,
usually the winners of the European Champions' Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League) and the South American Copa Libertadores. The competition has since been replaced by the FIFA Club World Cup.
UK OMITS INDIA FROM RELAXED STUDENT VISA RULES
UK announced a relaxation of the Tier 4 visa category for overseas students from 25 nations. However, India has been left out of this new expanded list, which means Indian students applying for similar courses will continue to face rigorous checks and documentary requirements. The changes, which come into effect on July 6, aim to make it easier for international students to come to study in the UK. INDIA AND CHINA AGREEMENTS ON BRAHMAPUTRA
India and China signed two bilateral agreements following the meeting between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit. The agreements include continuing to share Brahmaputra water data during flood season and exporting non-Basmati rice to China. The two countries have set a trade target of 100 billion dollars by 2020. During the hour- long meeting between Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi, both countries agreed on several initiatives to take forward the spirit of Wuhan Informal Summit. Chinese President accepted Prime Minister Modi’s invitation for a Wuhan type informal
summit in India next year. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 4 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
INDIA AND NORWAY SIGN MOU TO EXTEND HEALTH COOPERATION
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to extend the cooperation within the health sector The cooperation will be extended through the Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) for a period of three years starting from 2018 to 2020 This cooperation between India and Norway is aligned with the development goals of Indian Government as outlined in its National Health Policy 2017 for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) It will focus on global health issues of common interest It will enable cooperation in the areas related to maternal, newborn, child health and shall build on experiences from NIPI phase I and II.
The Norway - India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) works within the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) of India.
NRHM aims to provide effective health care to the rural population, especially tribal
groups including women and children, by improving access, enabling ownership and demand for services. NIPI focuses on reducing child and maternal mortality in five of the 18 states of NRHM.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ICT TO BE HELD IN KATHMANDU
An International Conference on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be held in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal from June 17. The Theme of the two-day conference is “Sustainable Development Goals for Smart Society”. The conference is organized by the Federation of Computer Association Nepal (CAN). The conference aims to bring government and private sector together for developing a plan of action using sustainable ICT applications. It also seeks to unleash the prospects of SMART Nepal by 2030.
Information and communication technology (ICT) is another/extensional term for information technology (IT) which stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers as well
as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information.
IRAN BANS IMPORT OF 1,400 ITEMS TO SUPPORT DOMESTIC PRODUCTS
The sales of domestic products amid US sanctions and to boost it , Iran's Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade has banned the import of 1,400 items.
The move also aims to manage the outflow of currency.
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INDIA AND US AGREE TO HOLD COMPREHENSIVE TALKS
India and the US have agreed to hold comprehensive talks to address trade and economic issues. The decision in this regard was taken during a series of meetings, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu had with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
RAKSHA MANTRI INAUGURATES 1ST BEL REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN VIETNAM
Raksha Mantri, Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the first Representative Office of Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in Hanoi, Vietnam. Smt Sitharaman handed over the symbolic key of the Representative Office of BEL at Vietnam (VIRO) to Chairman & Managing Director, BEL Mr Gowtama MV during the Vietnam-India Defence Industry Business Meeting. The Representative Office will aim to promote BEL’s exports in areas such as Weapon Systems, Radar Systems, Naval Systems, Military Communication Systems, Electronic Warfare Systems, Combat Management System and Coastal Surveillance System.
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company with about nine factories, and several regional offices in India.
It is owned by the Indian Government and primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces. BEL is one of nine PSUs under the Ministry of Defence of India. It has been accorded Navratna status by the Government of India
IVAN DUQUE WINS ELECTION TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF COLOMBIA
Ivan Duque, the conservative political newcomer was elected as Colombia's president on June 17. He received 54% of the vote in run-off election. His running mate, Marta Lucia Ramirez, will become Colombia's first female vice-president.
MC DONALDS TO BAN PLASTIC STRAWS IN UK AND IRELAND RESTAURANTS
As both the UK government and the EU are considering restrictions on single-use plastic products, McDonald's plans to ban plastic straws at all of its UK and Ireland restaurants by next year. The company had found two suppliers to meet its needs for paper straws, the start-up Transcend Packaging based in Wales, and Huhtamaki, a global company which will produce the straws at its plant in Belfast. They will use paper coming from certified sustainable sources.
Other companies making the move away from plastic versions include Burger King, JD Wetherspoon, Costa Coffee, Pizza Express and Wagamama. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 6 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
OMAR AL RAZZAZ WAS SWORN IN AS PRIME MINISTER OF JORDAN
Former World Bank Economist Omar al-Razzaz was sworn in as Jordan's Prime Minister after King Abdullah issued a decree approving the new government. Jordan's King Abdullah mandated to review a disputed tax system after widespread protests against IMF-driven austerity measures.
WORLD BANK APPROVES 700 MN DOLLAR TO IMPROVE PRIMARY EDUCATION IN BANGLADESH
The World Bank has approved $700 million to improve the primary education sector in Bangladesh. It will also finance implementation of the government's Fourth Primary Education Development Program (PEDP4). This project will build about 95,000 classrooms, teachers' rooms, and multipurpose rooms. It will also build 80,000 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) blocks and 15,000 safe water sources. The projects will provide recruitment to about 100,000 teachers.
CHINA UNVEILS 4 POINT VISION FOR FUTURE COOPERATION WITH INDIA
On June 18, 2018, Chinese envoy to India Luo Zhaohui unveiled a four-point vision for future cooperation with India. This is followed by the informal summit between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The four-point vision are: 1) Sign a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation 2) Negotiate a bilateral Free Trade Agreement 3) Enhance connectivity 4) Work for early harvest on boundary issues.
U.S. AND SOUTH KOREA AGREE TO SUSPEND JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST
South Korea and the United States have agreed to suspend all planning activities regarding the "Freedom Guardian" military drill scheduled for August. Last year, 17,500 American and more than 50,000 South Korean troops participated in the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills, although the exercise is mostly focused on computerized simulations rather than live field exercises that use weapons, tanks or aircraft.
US WITHDRAWS FROM UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
The United States withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council, accusing it of a "chronic bias against Israel," a move that activists warned would make advancing human rights globally even more difficult. The United Nations Human Rights Council consists of 47 member states, with a specific number of seats given to each region of the world.
Members are elected by the UN General Assembly for three-year terms and cannot serve more than two terms in a row. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 7 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body
whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The UNHRC has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. The current three-week session of the UNHRC began June 18, 2018.
The headquarters of UNHRC is in Geneva, Switzerland.
AIRLINE ADOPTS BIOFUEL IN GREEN PUSH
Airbus A350-1000 flies to Hong Kong from France partly on sugarcane-based fuel. The aircraft, a 334-seater, flew with a 10% blend of biofuel along with traditional jet fuel in its tanks which can hold 1,56,000 litres. Compared with the conventional jet fuel, biofuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%.
Push On Green is a process for automatically updating production software systems in a safe and controlled manner. Push on green processes are intended to keep production systems up and running with minimal manual effort and minimal user-visible downtime.
ALGERIA SHUTS DOWN INTERNET NATIONWIDE
Algeria shut down all internet connections nationwide for two hours in order to prevent students from cheating during two high school diploma exams. This comes after widespread cheating in 2016, where questions were leaked on social media before the start of the exam.
AMAZON CEO JEFF BEZOS BECAME THE RICHEST PERSON IN THE WORLD
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has become the richest man in the world with a net wealth of USD 141.9 billion, as per the Forbes World's Billionaires list. Bill Gates, the principal founder of Microsoft Corporation, is the second-richest man in the world with USD 92.9 billion. Warren Buffet ranked third place with a total of wealth of USD 82.2 billion.
INDIA AND TAJIKISTAN AGREE TO ENHANCE MUTUAL COOPERATION
India and Tajikistan have reaffirmed their commitment to promote bilateral relations and agreed to enhance economic cooperation, particularly in sustainable water development Tajikistan President- Emomali Rahmon Tajikistan currency-Somoni
Tajikistan capital – Dushanbe www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 8 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
WORLD’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR HUMANITARIAN FORENSICS LAUNCHED IN GUJARAT, GANDHI NAGAR
The world's first International Centre for Humanitarian Forensics (ICHF) was launched in Gujarat, India It is launched by the Gujarat Forensic Sciences University (GFSU) in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Regional Delegation for India, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland, and a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signatories) to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 (Protocol I, Protocol II) and 2005 have given the ICRC a mandate to
protect victims of international and internal armed conflicts. Such victims include war wounded, prisoners, refugees, civilians, and other non- combatants.
DELHI RESTAURANT INDIAN ACCENT RANKED AMONG 100 BEST EATERIES IN THE WORLD
"Indian Accent", which is located in the capital’s Lodhi Road, holds 90th position in the list of 100 best eateries in the world, prepared by William Reed Business Media. The list was announced at an event in Bilbao, Spain. The top position on the list is held by Osteria Francescana of Italy followed by a Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca. Kolkata-born chef Gaggan Anand's Bangkok restaurant 'Gaggan' has been ranked at number five , becoming the best restaurant in Asia.
RUSSIA TO SUPPLY TECHNICAL SECURITY EQUIPMENT TO INDIA
Russian conveyed atomic energy corporation Rosatom recited that its subsidiary Nikiret has signed an agreement with Indian engineering services firm Core Energy Systems Pvt Ltd for the promotion of its technical security equipment in India. According to Core Chief Executive Pranay Kumar, the partnership will explore opportunities in the Indian government's Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) project.
SAUDI ARABIA BECOMES LAST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO ALLOW WOMEN TO DRIVE
Women in Saudi Arabia have been legally allowed to drive for the first time in the history of one of the most conservative countries. Saudi Arabia issued the first driving license to women, as Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saudofficially announced in September 2017 to allow women to drive. Driving schools for women have been set up in five cities in the kingdom.
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ADNOC JOINS SAUDI ARAMCO TO BUILD RATNAGIRI REFINERY
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Saudi Aramco have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop and build an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. Saudi Aramco and ADNOC will together hold 50 percent stake. State owned refiners IOCL, HPCL & BPCL will have 50 percent stake in the Ratnagiri Refinery. Aramco CEO, Amin H Nasser.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is the state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the Oil & Gas Journal, as of January 2015, the UAE holds the seventh-largest proven reserves of oil in the world at 97.8 billion barrels. Most of these reserves are located in Abu Dhabi.
It is the world's 12th largest oil company by production, standing at 3.1 million barrels
per day.
It is the UAE's biggest company.
CHINA LAUNCHES SPY BIRD DRONE TO BOOST GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE
China has launched bird-shaped drones fitted with a camera, GPS antenna, and satellite communication capability, to monitor citizens living in different parts of the country. The program reportedly code named "Dove", is run by Song Bifeng , a professor at Northwestern Polytechnical University.
LONDON IS THE MOST DESIRABLE CITY IN THE WORLD
According to a survey conducted by the Boston Consulting Group London beat New York, Berlin and Barcelona to take the top spot as the most desirable city in the world for overseas workers. Meanwhile, the UK overall has dropped three places in the country rankings, falling from second in 2014 to fifth.
SEYCHELLES PRESIDENT DANNY FAURE SIGNED MOUS ON HIS FIRST BILATERAL VISIT TO INDIA
Faure arrived in India for a six-day visit on June 22. Indian government had given Seychelles $100 million on credit for the defence sector.
India and Seychelles signed six memorandums of understanding (MoUs). Details of the six agreements are yet to be disclosed. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 10 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
INDIA IS THE MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRY FOR WOMEN, US IN 10 WORST o The Thomson Reuters Foundation survey on women's issues, India is the world's most dangerous country for women due to the high risk of sexual violence and being forced into slave labour. o The list of the 10 countries ranked as the most dangerous for women by the survey, conducted between March 26 and May 4 o Those list of top ten Countries are : 1. India 2. Afghanistan 3. Syria 4. Somalia 5. Saudi Arabia 6. Pakistan 7. Democratic Republic of Congo 8. Yemen 9. Nigeria 10. United States
INDIA TO SIGN 3,400 CRORE RUPEES DEAL WITH ISRAEL TO BUY 4500 MISSILES
India is set to sign a ₹3,400-crore ($500 million) deal with Israel for the purchase of around 4,500 Spike missiles for the Indian Army. Spike is a fourth-generation man-portable fire-and- forget anti-tank guided missile designed by Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
UK QUEEN APPROVES BREXIT BILL AND ALLOWING UK TO LEAVE EUROPEAN UNION
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II granted royal assent to Prime Minister Theresa May's flagship Brexit legislation, that will formally end the country's European Union membership. The EU withdrawal bill repeals the 1972 European Communities Act through which the UK became a member of the bloc.
Brexit is the impending withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European
Union (EU). In a referendum on 23 June 2016, 51.9% of the participating UK electorate voted to leave the EU, out of a turnout of 72.2%.
On 29 March 2017, the UK government invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union. In the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 Parliament has defined "exit day" as 29
March 2019 at 11 pm UTC.
YOUSAF SALEEM SWORN IN AS PAKISTAN'S FIRST VISUALLY IMPAIRED JUDGE
Yousaf Saleem, 25-year-old, a visually impaired lawyer, became the first blind judge in the history of Pakistan. His sister is reportedly Pakistan's first visually impaired civil
servant. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 11 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
PRINCE WILLIAM BECOMES FIRST BRITISH ROYAL TO VISIT ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
UK’s Prince William became the first member of the royal family to visit Israel on an official visit. Prince William met Holocaust survivors, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and PM Benjamin Netanyahu as part of his three-day visit. Prince William will also meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas which will mark the first royal visit to the West Bank.
WORLDS LARGEST MULTILATERAL NAVAL EXERCISE RIMPAC BEGUN OFF HAWAII
26th edition of two month long exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) begun off Hawaii in the Western Pacific Ocean. Navies of 26 countries including India is participating in this exercise, which is scheduled off Hawaii from June 27 to August 27. INS Sahyadri, Commanded by Captain Shantanu Jha, has reached the Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, to participate in RIMPAC 2018. Subsequently, the 25th edition of the exercise was attended by INS Satpura in 2016.
RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii. It is hosted and administered by the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet, headquartered
at Pearl Harbor, in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and Hawaii
National Guard forces under the control of the Governor of Hawaii.
FIFTEENTH INDIA AUSTRALIA JOINT MINISTERIAL COMMISSION HELD IN CANBERRA
The meeting was jointly chaired by Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo. The talks culminated in the signing of an MoU between Austrade and Invest-India in order to facilitate bilateral investment flows. Prime Minister of Australia - Malcolm Turnbull.
14th India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) Meeting was held on 29th January, 2013 in New Delhi. The meeting was jointly chaired by Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles in India .
Dr.Craig Emerson MP, Australian Minister for Trade and Competitiveness and
Minister assisting the Prime Minister on Asian Century Policy. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 12 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
KANWALJEET JAWA BECOMES 1ST INDIAN TO BE APPOINTED AS BOARD MEMBER OF DAIKIN
Japanese air-conditioner maker Daikin Industries Ltd has appointed its India operations MD & CEO Kanwaljeet Jawa into the board of the parent company. Jawa joined Daikin India in 2010 as the Chief Operating Officer and later became the MD & CEO who transformed an engineering company to a full scale HVAC organisation.
INDIAN, INDONESIAN NAVIES PARTICIPATED IN PASSEX
Indian Naval ships INS Shakti and INS Kamorta under the command of Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, undertook Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Indonesian Naval Ship KRI Madidihang (855) a Stingrays Class Fast Patrol Craft on leaving the Port of Makassar, Indonesia. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Indonesia last month, the two countries decided to enhance their maritime cooperation.
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) is the technology of indoor and
vehicular environmental comfort.
Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HVAC system design is a sub discipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer. "Refrigeration" is sometimes added to the field's abbreviation, as HVAC&R or HVAC or "ventilation" is dropped, as in HACR
A passing exercise (a PASSEX in U.S. Navy terminology) is an exercise done between two navies to ensure that the navies are able to communicate and cooperate in times of waror humanitarian relief. Common drills include flashing light drills, semaphore drills, and flag hoist drills. In modern times, navies within a very close alliance may include electronic and
digital cooperation including using electronic communications and target
acquisition. Some exercises between the French and US navies (particularly in
support of the war in Afghanistan) have included carrier-based fighter-bombers "touching down" (landing then taking off) on each other's carriers in order to ensure interoperability. While the official reason of a PASSEX is to practice cooperation, various unofficial reasons might be to "show the flag" (show the power of a nation through a public
display of naval power) or other political or diplomatic reasons.
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FRENCH GOVERNMENT RE-INTRODUCED COMPULSORY NATIONAL SERVICE FOR ALL 16 YEAR OLDS
Under the plan, all 16 year old French boys and girls would do a minimum of one-month service in the first phase which would focus on voluntary teaching and working with charities among others. The second phase will be voluntary and focus on areas linked to defence and security.
The service program will start at the beginning of the 2019. French Education Minister:- Jean-Michel Blanquer France's prime minister:- Emmanuel Macron National service ended in Britain in 1957, though military service remains compulsory in Greece, Russia and Finland.
GERMAN WARSHIP EXPLODED DURING A MILITARY EXERCISE
American-made SM-2 air defense missile became trapped in its launcher, and exploded German warship FGS Sachsen, during a training exercise off the coast of Norway. 'FGS Sachsen' was operating with 'FGS Lübeck' near the Arctic Circle when it attempted to fire a Standard Missile (SM) 2 Block IIIA as part of the exercise.
The F124 Sachsen class is Germany's latest class of highly advanced air-defense frigates. The design of the Sachsen-class frigate is based on that of the F123 Brandenburg class but with enhanced stealth features designed to deceive an opponent's radar and acoustic sensors. The class incorporates an advanced multifunction radar APAR and a SMART-L long- range radar which is purported to be capable of detecting stealth aircraft and stealth missiles.
US WITHDRAWS ITS MILITARY FROM SOUTH KOREAN CAPITAL AFTER 70 YRS
US withdrew its troops from Seoul after nearly 70 years and moved them to Camp Humphreys in the city of Pyeongtaek. Camp Humphreys, the largSest US overseas military base, was built over a period of 10 years which cost nearly $11 billion. Over 28,000 US troops are stationed in South Korea.
INDIA IS THE SECOND HIGHEST SENDER OF FOREIGN STUDENTS IN US
India is the second highest sender of foreign students to the US, next only to China. With 1,86,000 Indian students currently studying in the United States. US consul general in Kolkata, Craig Hall, stated that the United States is the top destination for foreign students worldwide and the number of Indian students in the US has more than doubled in the last 10 years.
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MAHARASHTRA CM DEVENDRA FADNAVIS VISITS VIRGIN HYPERLOOP ONE TEST SITE IN US
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis visited one of "Virgin Hyperloop One" test sites in the US. This visit follows the MoU signed by the state government with the Virgin Group to build the Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop at an estimated cost of ₹20,000 crore. The Hyperloop is expected to reduce the travel time between the two cities to 25 minutes. In February 2018, Virgin Hyperloop One founder and chairman Richard Branson had signed an agreement in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Fadnavis to take up the Mumbai-Pune project.
INDIAN REAL ESTATE TRANSPARENCY RANKED 35TH GLOBALLY
India has emerged as one of the top 10 countries to have registered maximum improvement in transparency in real estate over last two years, showed JLL’s Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) 2018. According to the survey, UK is at the top position followed by Australia and the US. France, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Ireland and Sweden are in top 10 in the list of 100 countries. Venezuela is the least transparent market with 100th rank.
Global Real Estate Transparency Index comes at a time when the importance of transparency in aiding investment activity continues to be underscored.
The clear relationship between an open and transparent market and higher investment activity is one which has been thoroughly investigated and confirmed – with the ten highly transparent countries accounting for 75 percent of all investment
volumes. As countries make progress in improving transparency, investors and occupiers are demanding more accurate, frequent and granular market data and performance measurement.
MUMBAI IS INDIA'S MOST EXPENSIVE CITY, HONG KONG NAMED WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE CITY
According to Mercer's 24th annual Cost of Living Survey, Mumbai is India’s most expensive city, followed by New Delhi and Chennai. Kolkata and Bengaluru are the least expensive Indian cities ranked. Mercer’s survey reveals that Hong Kong took the top spot as the world’s most expensive city for expatriates. Tokyo and Zurich are in second and third positions, respectively, with Singapore in fourth.
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NATIOANL AFFAIRS
IMD LAUNCHES NEW SYSTEM TO IMPROVE WEATHER FORECASTS
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) launched a new Ensemble Prediction Systems (EPS) to provide probabilistic weather forecasts According to IMD, these new systems shall improve upon deterministic forecasts that are prone to high margins of error. The EPS involves generation of multiple forecasts using slightly varying initial conditions.
TATA MOTORS SIGNED MOU WITH MAHARASHTRA TO PROMOTE E-MOBILITY
Tata Motors (India's largest automobile company by revenues) signed a MoU with the State Government of Maharashtra for deployment of 1000 Electric Vehicles (EV) across its range of passenger and commercial vehicles in the State. The company also partnered Tata group company, Tata Power Ltd to set up of EV Charging Stations in the State. The MoU boosts the Maharashtra Electric Vehicle Policy 2018 in accelerating the adoption of EVs in Maharashtra.
ANDHRA PRADESH GOT ITS OWN SYMBOLS
Neem and black buck declared as the state tree and animal respectively of Andhra Pradesh. The rose-ringed parakeet will be the state bird while jasmine will be the state flower. The announcement was made by the Principal Secretary of Environment and Forests G Anantha Ramu.
ANDHRA PRADESH INKS PACT WITH MAHARASHTRA TO DEVELOP FINTECH ECOSYSTEM
Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh took to Twitter and shared the details about the same. The Minister termed Mumbai and Vizag as the driving force behind the Fintech platform. Lokesh hoped that new association will pave the way for enhanced financial technology innovation in both the states.
FinTech or financial technology has emerged as a relatively new industry in India.
FinTech is an industry comprising companies that use technology to offer financial services. These companies operate in insurance, asset management and payment, and
numerous other industries.
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FACEBOOK TIES-UP WITH NATIONAL WOMEN COMMISSION TO LAUNCH DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMME
Social networking giant Facebook partnered with the National Commission for Women (NCW) to launch a Digital Literacy Programme (DLP). The DLP will be launched in collaboration with the Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF).
The National Commission for Women (NCW) is a statutory body of the Government of India, generally concerned with advising the government on all policy matters affecting women. It was established in January 1992, as defined in the 1990 National Commission for Women Act. The first head of the commission was Jayanti Patnaik. As of 2017, Rekha Sharma is the chairperson
Digital Literacy Programme: The government initiated the program out of the conviction that technology has the power to bring about systemic change in basic and higher education by transforming teaching and learning through integrating technology in the learning environment. The learners are entitled to a luminous green tablet while the teachers receive a blue laptop.
ASIA'S FIRST THIRTEEN 'BLUE FLAG' BEACHES TO BE DEVELOPED IN INDIA
Environment-friendly, clean and equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists, 13 Indian beaches will soon get the Blue Flag certification. These beaches of Odisha, Maharashtra and other coastal states will be the first in not just India, but in Asia, to get the Blue Flag certification. The Indian beaches are being developed by the Society for Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), an environment ministry's body working for the management of coastal areas.
INDIA RANKED 113TH ON CHILDHOOD INDEX
According to a Save the Children’s "End of Childhood Index 2018”, India ranks 113 among 175 countries with regards to where childhood is threatened as a result of poor health, malnutrition, exclusion from education, child labor, and child marriage. The child marriages in India have come down to 15.2% from 21.1% in 2017. India jumped three positions up from 116 last year with improvement in India’s overall score by 14 points from 754 to 768 on a scale of 1000. Singapore and Slovenia are placed at the top sharing the first place in the index and Niger figures at the end of the list at 175.
PRESIDENT DECLARES QUEEN PINEAPPLE AS STATE FRUIT OF TRIPURA
The state of Tripura got a new gift “Queen Pineapple” as its state fruit The fruit was declared by President Ram Nath Kovind during his visit to the state. Along with this, he inaugurated the National Highway from Matabari to Sabroom in Udaipur (Tripura). www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 17 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
POLYTHENE TO BE COMPLETELY PROHIBITED FROM 31ST JULY IN UTTARAKHAND
In Uttarakhand, Polythene will be completely prohibited from 31st July in the state. All the polythene vendors have been asked to finish the polyethylene stock before 31st July. In Dehradun on the occasion of World Environment Day, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat stated, a comprehensive public awareness campaign will be launched on environmental damage caused by polythene, one week before the entire ban on polythene in the state.
HARYANA TO INCORPORATE DHAKKAD WOMEN COPS BY 20% TO CURB CRIME
Women will be given an opportunity to join the police aide as an upper helping hand to curb increasing crime against women, said Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar who wishes to increase the number of female police officers in the state. The main aim is to increase the availability of women up to 20% with the changing time. CM Manohar Lal Khattar confirmed there are many instances which cannot be given in a common police station. The main idea is to increase the women partnership in the police force was earlier done by incorporating 1000 candidates under which 2 % was raised from 6 to 8% which is reserved for women. In this year the number has been increased to 1200 and in that context, 3% will be increased which will amount to 11 % increase in women cops.
MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES FINANCIAL AID FOR TUR FARMERS
Maharashtra government will provide a financial grant of 1,000 rupees per quintal to those farmers whose tur and gram could not be purchased by the administration before the May 31 deadline. The state government had set up tur procurement target of 44.6 lakh quintals. The government had started purchasing tur from farmers by offering them guaranteed rates following bumper tur production.
PRESIDENT RAM NATH KOVIND INAUGURATES 73 KM LONG NH IN TRIPURA
In Tripura, President Ram Nath Kovind infrastructure plays a very important role in the development of any state. He was inaugurating a 73 km. long National Highway from Matabari (Udaipur) to Sabroom along the Gomati and South Tripura districts. Addressing a gathering, the President said the Central Government is working on various projects expeditiously under its ‘Act East’ policy in North East Region.
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UNION GOVERNMENT APPROVES TOURISM PROJECTS WORTH 1,800 CRORE RUPEES FOR HIMACHAL PRADESH
The development of tourism in Himachal Pradesh, the Centre has approved projects worth ₹1,800 crore. This comes after tourism was affected in Shimla over severe water scarcity. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister - Jai Ram Thakur. BUSINESS FIRST PORTAL LAUNCHED TO EASE OUT BUSINESS IN PUNJAB
In a major step to give a big push towards the ease of doing business in the state, the Punjab government launched a "Business First Portal" After launching a "Business First Portal", Punjab Industry Minister Sunder Sham Arora while addressing the industrialists said that online Portal would facilitate the industrialists for Regulatory Clearances and Fiscal Approvals, real-time tracking of applications at a common platform.
CBI BOOKS PUNE FOR IRREGULARITIES IN APPOINTMENT OF FACULTY IN PUNE
The CBI registered a case against the Principal of Pune's National Defence Academy (NDA), a Professor, two Associate Professors and others in selection and appointment of the institute's faculty It is alleged that certain faculty members entered into a conspiracy with unknown officials, including those of UPSC and Defence Ministry, and got elected and appointed in different posts of teaching faculty without possessing mandatory teaching or research experience.
The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the Joint Services academy of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force train together before they go on to respective service academies for further pre- commissioning training. The NDA is located at Khadakwasla near Pune, Maharashtra. It is the first tri-service academy in the world.
WEST BENGAL GOVERNMENT DECIDES TO INVEST RS 107 CR TO CHECK RIVER BANK EROSION
The West Bengal Government decided to invest 107 crore rupees to check erosion at vulnerable areas along the banks of the Ganga and the Padma A stretch of 15 kilometers will be concretized, to prevent erosion The work will be completed by March next year It will protect hundreds of homes and the river bank close to outposts of the Border Security Force on the Indo-Bangladesh border from being washed away by the strong currents.
Bank erosion is the wearing away of the banks of a stream or river. This is distinguished from erosion of the bed of the watercourse, which is referred to as scour. The roots of trees growing by a stream are undercut by such erosion.
As the roots bind the soil tightly, they form abutments which jut out over the water.
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PIYUSH GOYAL INAUGURATED THREE 100 MW SOLAR POWER PROJECTS
Union Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance & Company Affairs, Shri Piyush Goyal inaugurated Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Limited (NLCIL)’s three 100 MW Solar Power Projects which are situated at Thoppalaakkarai and Sethupuram in Virudhunagar District and Sellaiya Sezhiyanallur in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu. These projects were erected at a cost of Rs.1300 Crores, which includes Operation & Maintenance cost for 15 Years.
PUNJAB GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES BUSINESS FIRST PORTAL
In a major step to give a big push towards the ease of doing business in Punjab, the state government launched a "Business First Portal" It was unveiled by Industry Minister Sunder Sham Arora in Jalandhar. Addressing the industrialists the online portal will facilitate the industrialists for Regulatory Clearances and Fiscal Approvals, real-time tracking of applications at a common platform.
HIMACHAL PRADESH GOVERNMENT TO SCRAP SEMESTER SYSTEM IN UNDER-GRADUATE COURSES
Himachal Pradesh government decided to do away with semester system in undergraduate courses and revert to annual examination system. Education Minister Suresh Bharadwaj yesterday that the decision has been taken on the recommendation made by a review committee on the issue. Asserting that the thrust of the government was on qualitative improvement in education, that a decision has also been taken to start nursery classes in 3,000 schools from this year.
HIGHWAY TUNNEL DEDICATES TO NATION IN NORTH SIKKIM
Minister of State for Defence, Dr, Subhash Bhamre dedicated a highway tunnel at Theng near Chungthang in north Sikkim to the nation. The tunnel will benefit the tourism and rapidly propel the growth of the state. The double-lane tunnel stretching about 600 meters has been constructed by the Border Roads Organisation at cost of over 42 crore rupees.
INDIAS FIRST NATIONAL POLICE MUSEUM TO COME UP IN NEW DELHI
The Union Government decided to establish India’s first national police museum in Lutyens' Delhi The unique museum, depicting the history, artifacts, uniforms and gear of central and state police forces, will come up as an underground facility in the premises of the national police memorial in Chanakyapuri area of the national capital. The museum is expected to be inaugurated on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day, by either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Rajnath Singh. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 20 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
PRESIDENT RAM NATH KOVIND DISTRIBUTES LPG CONNECTIONS AT RAJ BHAVAN IN AGARTALA
President Ram Nath Kovind distributed LPG connections to 20 beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana at Raj Bhavan in Agartala in the morning .During his two-day visit to Tripura, the President inaugurated 73 km long National Highway connecting Udaipur town in Gomati district and Sabroom in South Tripura He laid the foundation stone for the re-development of Matabari Temple Complex at Tripura Sundari temple He attended a civic reception hosted by the state government in Agartala and declared ‘Queen’ pineapple variety of Tripura as state fruit. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is basically an NDA government scheme created with
the aim of providing five crore free cooking (LPG) connections to all families below the
poverty line, over the next three years till 2019. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quoted as saying that the reason behind choosing Ballia to launch the scheme was the low number of LPG connections available in the city. Serving as a boon for both men and women, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana would
include offering subsidy in the Jan Dhan accounts of the family’s woman head to curb
any chances of corruption. LPG connections would also aid in improving the health of women who need to cook food on firewood and hence tend to inhale thick, unhealthy smoke.
EFC EXTENDS TIMELINE OF DAM REHABILITATION & IMPROVEMENT PROJECT TO 2020
The Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) on June 7, 2018, approved the revised cost estimate of the Dam Rehabilitation & Improvement Project (DRIP) for Rs 3466 crore and extended time period for the conclusion of the project till June 2020
Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) is an externally-aidedproject.
The objectives of DRIP are to improve the safety and operational performance of
selected existing dams and associated appurtenances in a sustainable manner, and to
strengthen the dam safety institutional setup of participating States / Implementing
Agencies.
The approval came during a meeting of the EFC under the Chairpersonship of Secretary, Department of Expenditure that was held to consider the proposal of Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation for a revised cost estimate of the DRIP. The meeting was attended by officials of Ministry of Power, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, NITI Ayog and Ministry of Environment.
The Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) is a European Union advisory body,
defined by the article 134 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In 2012 Thomas Wieser because the committee's President, he is simultaneously the
President of Eurogroup Working Group (advisory body of the Eurogroup). Vincenzo La Via became Vice-President in July 2015. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 21 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
INDIA TO SOON START PRODUCING FIRST INDIGENOUS LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
India start producing first indigenous Lithium Ion batteries. A memorandum of understanding for transfer of technology for India’s first Lithium Ion (Li-ion) Battery project was signed yesterday between CSIR’s Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu and RAASI Solar Power Pvt Ltd.
In a release Ministry of Science and Technology said, at present India depends on countries like China, Japan, and South Korea for import of Lithium-Ion batteries. India imported Li-Ion batteries worth 150 million dollars in 2017 and is one of its largest importers in the world.
CHANDRA BABU NAIDU INAUGURATES DIAPHRAGM WALL PYLON OF POLAVARAM PROJECT
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandra Babu Naidu inaugurated the diaphragm wall pylon at the multipurpose irrigation project Polavaram. Addressing the small gathering here, Naidu assured that the mega irrigation venture will be completed by December 2019. Expressing satisfaction over the progress of construction, the Chief Minister said that near about 55 percent work has been completed.
Polavaram Project is a multi-purpose irrigation project which has been accorded
national project status by the union government of India. This dam across the Godavari River is under construction located in West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh state and its reservoir spreads
in parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha States also.
TRIPURA GOVERNMENT TAKES NUMBER OF INITIATIVES TO PRESERVE, PROMOTE CULTURAL HERITAGE
Tripura government taken a number of initiatives to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the state AIR correspondent reports, the Director of Information & Cultural Affairs, Ms. B. Vishwasree, the culture aspect of Tripura has always been an integral part of Tripura Government to promote cultural heritage as well as the positive outlook of the people She informed about the various initiatives taken by the state government to promote and conserve state's cultural heritage The Tripura’s culture is mainly nature oriented and thus brings out a uniqueness of the state.
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CENTRAL GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES 'RAIL MADAD', 'MENU ON RAILS' MOBILE APPS
The Ministry of Railways launched two mobile applications to ease the traveling experience The two apps, 'Rail MADAD' and 'Menu on Rails', were launched by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State (MoS) Manoj Sinha during a press conference organized to highlight the achievements of the Ministry in the last four years While Rail MADAD will enable travellers to lodge complaints, Menu on Rails will facilitate seamless ordering of food The Minister stated Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh has been created with a corpus of one lakh crore rupees for making additional funds available for safety-related works.
INDIA GIVES 99 MILLION NEPALESE RUPEES FOR FINAL PHASE OF NEPAL- BHARAT MAITRI IRRIGATION PROJECT
India extended a financial aid of Rs 99 million to Nepal for the construction of 2,700 shallow tube well irrigation systems in 12 districts of the country's southern Terai region to boost agricultural productivity. The assistance has been extended as part of the final payment for the Nepal-Bharat Maitri Irrigation Project, which was launched in January 2017 to boost growth to the Himalayan nation's agricultural sector through enhanced facilities. With this aid, Indian has so far released a total of 227.6 million Nepalese rupees to Kathmandu for implementing the project.
GOA TO HAVE ITS THIRD MANDOVI BRIDGE SOON; 85% WORK COMPLETED
India is celebrating as a construction year aiming to construct roads across the country via various projects. In order to keep an eye on these projects, Union Minister for National Highways and Road Transport Nitin Gadkari today took stock of the progress of national highway projects in a meeting held in South Goa. Gadkari reviewed around 700 projects. Of these, the expenditure on 427 projects will be borne by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The Road Transport Ministry would implement 369 projects worth Rs 100 crores.
The Mandovi Bridge is a bridge between towns Panaji and Porvorim, in Goa. It
carries the NH 17 over the tidal part of the Mandovi River. The first and second bridge are multiple span beam bridges and the third is a cable-
stayed bridge which is under construction. It has a total length of 3,771 metres.
HARYANA VILLAGE 1ST TO PASS ‘NO TOILET, NO BRIDE’ RESOLUTION
Haryana's Godikan village panchayat has passed a 'No Toilet, No Bride' resolution, becoming the first panchayat in the country to do so. According to the resolution, girls from Godikan will not be married off in houses without
a toilet.
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GUJARAT TOPS NITI AAYOG'S COMPOSITE WATER MANAGEMENT INDEX
Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari released Niti Aayog's composite water management index report in New Delhi. Gujarat topped the list while Jharkhand was adjudged as the worst performer. Gujarat is followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In the northeastern and Himalayan states, Tripura has been adjudged as the top state in 2016-17 followed by Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam. Niti Aayog has ranked the states through first of its kind index on the composite water management, comprising 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators covering various aspects. The report predicted that by 2030, the country's water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people.
GOVERNMENT APPROVES REVISION OF CARPET AREA OF HOUSES ELIGIBLE
The Union Government approved a 33percentt increase in carpet area of houses eligible for interest subsidy under its affordable housing scheme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) to attract more beneficiaries. The carpet area of a house has been enhanced to 160 square metres from 120 square metres for Middle Income Group-1, while it has been increased to 200 square metres from 150 square metres in case of Middle Income Group-2.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is an initiative by Government of India in which affordable housing will be provided to the urban poor with a target of building 20
million affordable houses by 31 March 2022.
It has two components: Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) (PMAY-U) for the urban poor and Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) (PMAY-G and also PMAY-R) for the rural poor. This scheme is converged with other schemes to ensure houses have a toilet, Saubhagya Yojana electricity connection, Ujjwala Yojana LPG gas connection, access
to drinking water and Jan Dhan banking facilities, etc.
CASHLESS TICKETING THROUGH 'UTS ON MOBILE' APP DEVELOPED BY CRIS
The Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) developed a mobile-based application ‘utsonmobile' The ‘utsonmobile’ application enables booking and cancellation of unreserved tickets, issue and renewal of season and platform tickets, check and load R-wallet balance and helps maintain user profile management and booking history.
The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), designs, develops, implements and maintains most of the important information systems of Indian Railways. It is located in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.
CRIS was established in 1986 by the Ministry of Railways of India.
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TWENTY STATES SIGN MOU FOR IMPLEMENTING AYUSHMAN BHARAT - NHP MISSION
Mr J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare exchanged the MoU with the State Health Ministers of 20 States marking their commitment towards the launch of the Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM). Smt. Anupriya Patel, Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare and Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog were also present at the function. A web portal for initiating the empanelment of hospitals under the mission was also launched.
ICCC OF NAYA RAIPUR SMART CITY INAUGURATED
The Integrated Command and Control Centre(ICCC) of the Naya Raipur Smart City was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Integrated Command & Control Centre of Naya Raipurbecomes the 10th Smart City Centre to be operational in the country. Under the ambitious Smart City Mission, ICCC in 9 cities had already become operational viz. Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Pune, Nagpur, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, Bhopal and Kakinada. Naya Raipur is one of the 3 Smart Cities of Chhattisgarh selected under the Smart Cities Mission. The other two cities are Raipur and Bilaspur.
MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT, QUEBEC PROVINCE SIGN PACT TO INCREASE ECONOMIC COOPERATION
The Maharashtra government and Canada’s Quebec province have signed a pact to increase the economic cooperation, especially in areas of information technology, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and welfare of the tribal community. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was on a week- long tour to the US and Canada signed MoU to this effect with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard. They also discussed ways to increase collaboration over knowledge-sharing on ports.
HDFC HAS BEEN RANKED 5TH BIGGEST CONSUMER FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANY WORLDWIDE BY FORBES
Housing finance major HDFC has been ranked as the 5th biggest public company globally in the 'consumer financial services category' on a list compiled by Forbes magazine. American Express has ranked No:1 in this category, while Indiabulls Housing Finance is the only other Indian company (at 13th place) on the list. There are a total of 58 Indian companies on the overall list of 2,000 firms from across the world. These include Reliance Industries at 83rd place, the only from India in the top-100. Besides, HDFC Bank is at 202nd, ONGC at 266th, Indian Oil at 270th and ICICI Bank at 320th.
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SAARC FUND TO LAUNCH SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PROGRAMME IN INDIA AND 7 OTHER MEMBER NATIONS
Thimpu-based SAARC Development Fund (SDF) will soon be launching a Social Enterprise Development Programme (SEDP) to fund 80 entities annually across the 8- member states including India. SDF was established by the Heads of the eight SAARC member states in April 2010 and its Governing Council comprises finance ministers of these eight countries. Full form of SAARC - South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SAARC members are - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geo political union of nations in South Asia. SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The organization promotes development of economic and regional integration. It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006. SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the United Nations as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities, including the European Union.
HARYANA HAS BECOME THE FIRST STATE IN INDIA TO GIVE STAR RANKING TO ITS VILLAGES
A total of 1,120 villages of Haryana have achieved star ranking under '7-Star Gram Panchayat Rainbow Scheme' launched in January 2018 by Chief Minister Manohar Lal. The star rating to the village panchayats under the scheme is given on the basis of seven parameters and for each parameter different colours of stars are awarded such as Under the scheme the villages would be rewarded Rs 1 lakh for achieving each star. Pink star for outstanding performance in improving sex ratio. Green star for protection of environment, White star for cleanliness, Saffron star for crime-free villages. Sky colour star awarded to village that will have no drop out. Golden star for good governance. Silver star for participation in development of villages.
RATAN TATA IS THE ONLY INDIAN INVESTOR IN XIAOMI, IPO FILING REVEALS
As per Xiaomi’s IPO documents, Ratan Tata is the only Indian investor in the company, which has built a name for itself on the back of affordable quality smartphones. Tata’s investment in the company is now worth close to $2.1 million - a twofold jump in four years.
An initial public offering, or IPO, is the very first sale of stock issued by a company to the public. Prior to an IPO the company is considered private, with a relatively small number of
shareholders made up primarily of early investors (such as the founders, their families
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HARYANA GOVERNMENT INTRODUCED A SCHEME TO GIVE SCHOOL KIDS 50 RUPEES FOR PLANTING TREES
The Haryana government has decided to introduce a scheme under which school children will be given ₹50 for planting trees every six months for a period of three years. The scheme will cover students from Classes 6 to 12 of both government and private schools. It will be launched on July 10.
THREE DAY NATIONAL YOGA OLYMPIAD 2018 BEGAN IN NEW DELHI
National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) organised three-day National Yoga Olympiad-2018 in New Delhi for the Third consecutive year. 500 students from 26 states and four regional educational institutions are taking part. "Joy of Theater" and "Music" books were also released on this occasion.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India that was established on 1
September 1961 as a literary, scientific and charitable Society under the Societies' Registration Act (Act XXI of 1860). Its headquarters are located at Sri Aurbindo Marg in New Delhi.
Dr. Hrushikesh Senapaty is director of the council since September 2015.
INDIA’S FIRST RIVER INTERLINKING PROJECT: KEN-BETWA PROJECT
Ken-Betwa interlinking Project aims to transfer surplus water from the Ken River to the Betwa basin through concrete canal to irrigate India’s worst drought-prone Bundelkhand region. The multipurpose project will benefit Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in terms of meeting irrigation, drinking water and electricity needs of people across 6 districts in the two states.
PRESIDENT OF INDIA APPROVES GOVERNOR RULE IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
President Ram Nath Kovind approved the imposition of Governor's rule in Jammu and Kashmir with immediate effect. The move comes within 24 hours of the breakdown of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - People's Democratic Party (PDP) alliance in the state. J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her team of ministers submitted their resignation to Governor NN Vohra. Governor Vohra forwarded his report to President Kovind for the imposition of
Governor's rule under Section 92 of the Constitution of J&K.
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SHILLONG, THE CAPITAL CITY OF MEGHALAYA, SELECTED AS THE 100TH SMART CITY
Shillong has been selected as the 100th city to receive funding under the Centre's flagship "Smart Cities Mission". In January 2016, 20 cities were announced under the Smart Cities Mission, followed by 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016, 30 cities in June 2017, and 9 cities in January this year. The total proposed investment in the finally selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission would be Rs 2,05,018 crore. Under the scheme, each city will get Rs 500 crore from the Centre for implementing various projects. The 100 Smart Cities Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 25, 2015.
NITI AAYOG HAS RANKED RAJASTHAN AT NO.1 STATE IN WATER CONSERVATION
NITI Aayog has ranked Rajasthan at first place among states in water conservation as it registered a significant increase in the level of groundwater. This achievement is due to water conservation structures built under Chief Minister's Jal Swawlamban Abhiyaan programme.
The NITI Aayog and National Institution for Transforming India, is a policy think
tank of the Government of India, established with the aim to achieve Sustainable
Development Goals and to enhance cooperative federalism by fostering the involvement of State Governments of India in the economic policy-making process
using a bottom-up approach.
Its initiatives include "15 year road map", "7-year vision, strategy and action plan", AMRUT, Digital India, Atal Innovation Mission, Medical Education
Reform, Agriculture reforms (Model Land Leasing Law, Reforms of the Agricultural
Produce Marketing Committee Act, Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index for ranking states), Indices Measuring States’ Performance in Health,
Education and Water Management, Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Rationalization of
Centrally Sponsored Schemes, Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Skill Development, Task Forces on
Agriculture and Elimination of Poverty, and Transforming India Lecture Series.
GUJARAT GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES WIND SOLAR HYBRID POWER POLICY
The state government of Gujarat, Gujarat energy minister, Saurabh Patel on June 21, 2018 announced the wind-solar hybrid power policy - 2018, reciting that the developer of an existing solar project will now be able to use the same land for setting up wind and solar power units The 'Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Policy-2018' will remain in force for five years.
Gujarat produces approximately 7,100 MW of non-conventional energy including 5,500 MW of wind power and 1,600 MW of solar power. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 28 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
INDIA LAUNCHES ITS FIRST NATIONAL HEALTHCARE FACILITY REGISTRY
The Union ministry of health and family welfare launched the National Health Resource Repository (NHRR), the first ever registry in the country registry of authentic, standardised and updated geo-spatial data of all public and private healthcare. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the project technology partner for providing data security. It was launched by Union Health Minister J P Nadda.
The Indian Space Research Organisation is the space agency of the Government of India headquartered in the city of Bangalore. Its vision is to "harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration. Formed in 1969, ISRO superseded the erstwhile Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) established in 1962 by the efforts of independent India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and his close aide and scientist Vikram Sarabhai. The establishment of ISRO thus institutionalized space activities in India. It is managed by the Department of Space, which reports to the Prime Minister of India. ISRO built India's first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1975. It was named after the Mathematician Aryabhata. In 1980, Rohini became the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-made launch vehicle, SLV-3. ISRO subsequently developed two other rockets: the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for launching satellites into polar orbits and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) for placing satellites into geostationary orbits.
ONE LAKH PEOPLE PERFORM YOGA IN RAJASTHAN, CREATE WORLD RECORD
International Yoga Day on June 21, More than 1 lakh people together performed Yoga in Rajasthan's Kota to create Guinness World Record. CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia was present at the venue along with Yoga guru Ramdev, who conducted the yoga session. Earlier, 55,000 people of Mysore held the record of the largest crowd performing yoga.
PM MODI INAUGURATES RS 3,866 CR MOHANPURA IRRIGATION PROJECT
The Rs.3,866-crore Mohanpura irrigation project in Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh includes a dam and a canal system, which benefit 727 villages in the state. It would irrigate 1.25 lakh hectares of land and would also provide drinking water to over 400 villages. Madhya Pradesh chief minister - Shivraj Singh Chouhan
HINDI IS THE MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGE IN INDIA, BENGALI SECOND
According to the language data of Census 2011, Hindi is the mother tongue of 43.63%Indians, making it the country's most spoken language, followed by Bengali. Further, Marathi has replaced Telugu as the third most spoken language in the nation.
While Sanskrit is least spoken, Urdu became the seventh most spoken language in India.
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PM MODI TO INAUGURATE 3RD AIIB MEETING IN MUMBAI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on June 25-26 in Mumbai. The two-day event will be held at the Hotel Trident/Oberoi and NCPA. AIIB annual meetings have been held in Beijing, China, in 2016 and in Jeju, South Korea, in 2017.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank that aims to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region. The bank currently has 86 member states from around the world.
The bank started operation after the agreement entered into force on 25 December 2015, after ratifications were received from 10 member states holding a total number of 50% of the initial subscriptions of the Authorized Capital Stock.
Major economies that are not members include Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, and the United States.
PRIME MINISTER MODI LAYS FOUNDATION STONE OF GREEN BUILDING
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recited the foundation stone of Vanijya Bhawan, a new office complex for the Union Department of Commerce, in New Delhi . It will be a completely paperless office with state-of-the-art- facilities such as smart access control, central air-conditioning, video conferencing and completely networked systems.
CEMS SETS UP FIRST OF ITS KIND 24 LABS IN MUMBAI AND VIZAG
The Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding (CEMS), a well-funded start-up in skill development for maritime and shipbuilding sector, has announced setting up of 24 labs -6 in Mumbai and 18 in Vizag campus. This is First-of-Its-Kind Infrastructure in Asia Pacific Region.
A world class Center of Excellence in Maritime and Ship Building (CEMS) is being set up by Ministry of Shipping in collaboration with Siemens and Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) under the Ministry’s flagship Sagarmala Programme. CEMS will have campuses at Vishakhapatnam and Mumbai, and will provide industry-
relevant skill development, equip students with employable engineering and technical skills in the port and maritime sector and contribute to the Government of India’s ambitious Sagarmala programme.
SUSHMA SWARAJ LAUNCHED THE ‘MPASSPORT SEVA’ MOBILE APPLICATION
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj launched the "mPassport Seva" mobile application on the occasion of 'Passport Seva Divas' , to help deliver passports to applicants at their residence She also scrapped the marriage certificate’s compulsion, required for obtaining passports.
There are 260 working passport centres, which will be expanded to all Lok Sabha constituencies in the near future. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 30 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
OSCAR ACADEMY INVITES 20 BOLLYWOOD STARS INCLUDING SHAH RUKH KHAN, MADHURI DIXIT
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Oscar Academy has invited 928 new members this year, and 20 people on the list are from Bollywood.
The 20 Bollywood stars that are invited are; Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Madhabi Mukherjee, Soumitra Chatterjee, Naseeruddin Shah, Ali Fazal, Anil Kapoor and Tabu are the Indian actors on the list, while Indian producers Aditya Chopra and Guneet Monga, Cinematographer Anil Mehta, costume designers Dolly Ahluwalia and Manish Malhotra, sound designers Debajit Changmai and Biswadeep Chatterjee, production designers Subrata Chakraborty and Amit Ray, music composers Usha Khanna and Sneha Khanwalkar and film editor Ballu Saluja are also in the list.
THREE DAY ANNUAL SINDHU DARSHAN FESTIVAL BEGINS IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Sindhu Darshan Festival is celebrated on the bank of Indus River in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. The Festival is focused at national integration, communal harmony and national pride. This year mark the 22nd Sindhu Darshan festival and it was started by the former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani in 1997.
GOVERNMENT APPROVES TWO MORE STRATEGIC OIL STORAGES IN ODISHA AND KARNATAKA
The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi has approved to set up two more underground crude oil storages in Chandikhol, Odisha, and Padur, Karnataka to increase emergency stockpile cover by 12 days to 22 days. The announcement was made by the Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi. The SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) facilities at Chandikhol and Padur will be underground rock caverns and will have capacities of 4 MMT and 2.5 MMT respectively.
TEN NEW SWACHH ICONIC PLACES TAKEN UNDER PHASE II OF SWACHH BHARAT MISSION
Union Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar has announced these places during the second quarterly review meeting on the Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) held
at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir.
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These ten new iconic places which are to be brought to a higher standard of swachhta and visitors’ amenities are : 1. Gangotri, 2. Yamunotri. 3. Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ujjain, 4. Char Minar, Hyderabad, 5. Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assissi, Goa, 6. Adi Shankaracharya’s abode Kaladi in Ernakulam, 7. Gomateshwar in Shravanbelgola, 8. Baijnath Dham, Devghar, 9. Gaya Tirth in Bihar and 10. Somnath temple in Gujarat.
The ten Iconic places already in Phase I are: 1. Ajmer Sharif Dargah 2. CST Mumbai 3. Golden Temple, Amritsar 4. Kamakhya Temple, Assam 5. Maikarnika Ghat, Varanasi 6. Meenakshi Temple, Madurai 7. Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Katra, J&K 8. Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri 9. The Taj Mahal, Agra 10. Tirupati Temple, Tirumala.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) (or Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) or Clean India Mission) is a campaign in India that aims to clean up the streets, roads and infrastructure of India's cities, smaller towns, and rural areas. The objectives of Swachh Bharat include eliminating open defecation through the construction of household-owned and community-owned toilets and establishing an
accountable mechanism of monitoring toilet use.
Run by the Government of India, the mission aims to achieve an Open-Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2 October 2019, the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi
FINANCE MINISTRY APPROVES METRO RAIL PROJECTS IN 5 CITIES OF MADHYA PRADESH AND UTTAR PRADESH
The Union Finance Ministry has given "in-principle" approval to proposed Metro Rail projects in Indore, Bhopal, Kanpur, Agra, and Delhi The estimated cost of the projects is 1.07 lakh crore Besides the five metro projects, the Rs 32,000 crore Delhi- Meerut corridor of the proposed Rapid Rail Transit System also got the in-principle nod from the finance ministry.
NITI AAYOG WEP SIGNS SOI WITH FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurs Platform (WEP) inked five Statement of Intent (SoIs) with Shri Mahila Sewa Sahakari Bank Limited, India bulls Housing Finance Limited, SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited, Sreemanta Sankar Mission and the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in order to provide assistance to women entrepreneurs and address the finance-related challenges faced by them The WEP aims to create opportunities and support women to help them realize their entrepreneurial aspirations, scale up innovative initiatives, and chalk out sustainable and
long-term strategies for their businesses. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 32 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
BENGALURU RANKED WORLD'S 2ND BEST LOCATION TO LAUNCH TECH STARTUPS
According to research firm SmallBusinessPrices.co.uk, Bengaluru has claimed the second spot in the list of best locations for launching tech startups. The first place was secured by Boulder city in the US while the third best location was Johannesburg in South Africa. The research measured the average internet speed, the average business valuation, and cost of living, among other metrics.
HARYANA CM RIDES MOTORCYCLE TO STADIUM FOR INSPECTION
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar rode a Royal Enfield motorcycle to the Karan Stadium in Karnal for a surprise inspection of the development work being undertaken at a cost of about Rs. 7 crore. He also enquired about the problems faced by the athletes.
INDIAN RAILWAYS INSTALLED PLASTIC BOTTLE CRUSHERS AT 4 STATIONS
The South Central Railwayhas installed plastic bottle crushers at Telangana's Kachiguda, Secunderabad, and Nizamabad, and Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada stations in order to promote environmental protection. The machines can crush up to 5,000 bottles a day. The crushed plastic pieces can be reused to make bags or t- shirts. At Vadodara railway station, the railway authorities have set up bottle crushers, by which Passengers earn up to Rs 5 by feeding the machine with a plastic bottle.
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INDIAN POLITY
ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA LAUNCHES ITS ONLINE RTI PORTAL
The Election Commission of India launched its online RTI Portal. The portal - rti.eci.nic.in will facilitate applicants seeking information under the Right to Information Act. The portal also facilitates online reply to applications and also for making first appeal.
The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority
responsible for administering election processes in India. The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
The Election Commission operates under the authority of Constitution as
per Article 324,and subsequently enacted Representation of the People Act. The Commission has the powers under the Constitution, to act in an appropriate
manner when the enacted laws make insufficient provisions to deal with a given
situation in the conduct of an election. Being a constitutional authority, Election Commission is amongst the few
institutions which function with both autonomy and freedom, along with the
country’s higher judiciary, the Union Public Service Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
MONSOON SESSION OF PARLIAMENT TO BE HELD FROM 18TH JULY TO 10TH AUGUST
The government plans to pass the Constitution (123rd) Amendment Bill, 2017 that seeks to accord constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). The Triple Talaq billare the important bills and the Transgender Bill, among others, will be brought in Parliament for passing them. The session will comprise 18 working days. Parliamentary affairs minister - Ananth Kumar.
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CENTRAL GOVERNMENT CONSTITUTES GROUP TO SUGGEST CHANGES IN SEZ POLICY
The Centre constituted a group of eminent persons headed by Bharat Forge’s Baba Kalyani to study the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) policy of the country and suggest measures to make it more relevant for exporters and compatible with World Trade Organisation (WTO)norms The SEZ Act was passed in 2005 giving tax incentives to investors, but investments in the zone were subsequently brought under the ambit of Minimum Alternate Tax and Dividend Distribution Tax leading to a dwindling in the flow of money into the SEZs.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates international trade.
The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh
Agreement, signed by 124 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948.
It is the largest international economic organization in the world.
The WTO deals with regulation of trade in goods, services and intellectual property between participating countries by providing a framework for
negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements, which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments.
Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round (1986–1993).
PRESIDENTS ASSENT TO AN ORDINANCE TO SET UP COUNTRYS 1ST NATIONAL SPORTS UNIVERSITY
President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to an ordinance to set up the country’s first national sports university in Manipur. The Union Cabinet had approved an ordinance in May 2018 in this regard. National Sports University Ordinance, 2018 will be on the lines of the National Sports University Bill, 2017 which was introduced in Lok Sabha in 2017. The University will a first of its kind, to promote sports education in the areas of sports sciences, sports technology, sports management and sports coaching besides functioning as the national training center for select sports disciplines by adopting the best international practices.
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TAMILNADU
LIQUID BASED CYTOLOGY WAS LAUNCHED IN TAMILNADU
In India, nearly 85% of cervical cancers are diagnosed in the advanced stages. Hence a new technique, Liquid Based Cytology (LBC) for screening cervical cancer was launched. In the conventional method, the total number of samples taken may not be transferred to the slide. But in LBC, whatever sample is taken gets transferred to the slide making analysis with high accuracy. LBC technique would help in detecting cervical cancer during the pre-cancerous stage. In Tamilnadu, about 5 to 6 hospitals have introduced this technique so far.
Liquid-based cytology is a method of preparing samples for examination in Cytopathology.
The sample is collected, normally by a small brush, in the same way as for a
conventional smear test, but rather than the smear being transferred directly to a microscope slide, the sample is deposited into a small bottle of preservative liquid. At the laboratory the liquid is treated to remove other elements such as mucus before a layer of cells is placed on a slide. The technique allows more accurate results. The UK screening programmes changed their cervical screening method from the Pap test to liquid-based cytology in 2008.
TAMILNADU IS ALL SET TO NETWORK MRI, CT SCAN MACHINES OF GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS FOR BETTER PATIENT CARE
TN govt has taken steps to virtually connect 58 Computed Tomography (CT) and 18 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) located in different govt hospitals in the state. The Tele - radiology system will allow selected images to be uploaded to a central server. Thus making the results accessible to radiologists sitting anywhere in the state.
The connectivity between the central server and hospital is established through a 2 MBPS Internet leased line. Each Radiologist will be given laptops with an integrated SIM and 4G connectivity to access the images and report immediately.
Tele- radiology is the transmission of radiological patient images, such as x-rays, CTs, and MRIs, from one location to another for the purposes of sharing studies with other
radiologists and physicians.
AIIMS TO COME UP AT MADURAI
Tamil Nadu government announced that the much- Anticipated all India Institute of Medical Sciences ( AIIMS) facility announced for the state by the Centre will come up near Madurai The AIIMS facility was announced for Tamil Nadu in Union Budget 2015-2016 but had faced some delays over the location of the facility www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 36 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
NLC’S SOLAR POWER PROJECTS COMMERCIAL OPERATION INAUGURATED
Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Limited (NICIL)’s 300 MW solar power projects for commercial operation were inaugurated recently These projects situated at Thoppalaakkarai and Sethupuram in Virudhunagar District and Sellaiya Sezhiyanallur in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu
TAMIL NADU TO BAN USE OF PLASTIC
World Environment Day, Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced a “Plastic Free Tamil Nadu policy” under which plastic will be banned from January 2019 on World Environment Day. Earlier, former CM J Jayalalithaa introduced the Tamil Nadu Plastic Articles (Prohibition of Sale, Storage,Transport and Use) Bill in 2002 and subsequently a committee was formed and the recommendations are now being implemented.
GERMAN AWARD TO CHENNAI CORPORATION
The German firm GIZ awarded the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative worth of 2 Lakhs Euro to Chennai Metro Corporation. The awarding Ceremony recently held at leibbes City in Germany. For the design of Roads, the Chennai Corporation has been awarded by the German firm. On behalf of Germany’s GIZ firm, the competition for Award for “Initiative on Making changes in the urban traffic” was organised. For this award, on behalf of Chennai Corporation the application for “The Competition in the name of designing work including all the characteristics of Roads” has been submitted.
The German Design Award directly contributes to the overall commercial success. Prizes will only be awarded to projects that truly represent pioneering contributions to
the German and international design landscape.
The highly esteemed, international jury guarantees this. The German Design Award identifies and presents unique design trends: a competition that advances the design- oriented scene.
TAMIL NADU’S 1ST ANTYODAYA EXPRESS
The Union Minister of State for Railways RajenGohain agged off an Antyodaya Express train service for unreserved passengers. Antyodaya Express will play on the Tambaram-Tirunelveli route in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu. The Tambaram-Tirunelveli Antyodaya Express train, which is a daily, unreserved express train, will be managed by the Southern zone of Indian Railways. The Tambaram-Tirunelveli Antyodaya Express train is the 1st Antyodaya service from Tamil Nadu.
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ECONOMY
INDIA AND WORLD BANK SIGNS $500 MILLION ADDITIONAL FINANCING FOR PMGSY
The Government of India and the World Bank signed a $500 million loan agreement to provide additional financing for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Rural Roads Project, implemented by Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India, which will build 7,000 km of climate resilient roads, out of which 3,500 km will be constructed using green technologies. The World Bank has supported PMGSY since its inception in 2004
Prime Minister's Rural Roads Scheme is a nationwide plan in India to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages. Of 178,000 habitations with a population of above 500 in the plains and above 250 in the hilly areas planned to be connected by all-weather roads, 82% were already connected by December 2017 and work-in-progress on the remaining 47,000 habitations was on-track for completion by March 2019
INDIAN ECONOMY GROWS 7.7% IN 4TH QUARTER REPOT BY CENTRAL STATISTICS DATA
The Indian economy grew 7.7%in the fourth quarter of 2017-18. The GDP had expanded 5.6%, 6.3%, and 7%, in the first three quarters of 2017-18, according to the data released by Central Statistics Office. As per the Data, robust performance in manufacturing, construction and service sectors, as well as good farm output, contributed to the overall growth. The previous high GDP growth of 8.1% was recorded in the first quarter of 2016-17.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is a governmental agency in India under the Ministry
of Statistics and Programme Implementation responsible for co-ordination of statistical activities in India, and evolving and maintaining statistical standards. It has a well-
equipped Graphical Unit.
The CSO is located in Delhi. Some portion of Industrial Statistics work pertaining to Annual Survey of industries is carried out in Calcutta.
INFOSYS CONCLUDES ACQUISITION OF US BASED WONGDOODY AT $75 MILLION
Infosys completed the acquisition of WongDoody Holding Company, a US-based digital creative and consumer insights agency, for a total consideration of up to $75 million. Founded in 1993, WongDoody has clients across industries like telecommunications, consumer electronics, healthcare and consumer packaged goods.
TATA TO RE-ENTER FRIDGE, WASHING MACHINE BUSINESS AFTER 20YRS
Through a joint venture between Voltas, a Tata company and Turkey's Arcelik, Tata Group is re-entering the home appliances market after 20 years. The joint venture will manufacture refrigerators, microwave ovens, washing machines
and dishwashers under the Voltas Beko brand at a reported investment of ₹1,000-crore. Its first manufacturing facility in the country will be set up in Gujarat. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 38 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
GLOBAL ECONOMY IS HEALTHY BUT GROWTH WILL SLOW: WORLD BANK
The steadily expanding global economy should remain resilient, at least for a couple of years, the World Bank stated. The anti-poverty agency predicts global growth will decelerate slightly from a solid 3.1 percent this year to 3 percent next year and 2.9 percent in 2020. The World Bank predicts that US growth will register 2.7 percent in 2018, aided by tax cuts, before slowing to 2.5 percent next year and 2 percent in 2020. China's growth is projected at 6.5 percent this year, 6.3 percent in 2019 and 6.2 percent in 2020.
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA TO ANNOUNCE ITS SECOND BI-MONTHLY MONETARY POLICY OF 2018-19
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will announce its second bi-monthly Monetary Policy of 2018-19. The Monetary Policy Committee, headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, began its meeting in Mumbai on Monday, and it will meet today as well before the policy will be announced. This is the first time the six-member committee is meeting for three days instead of the usual two, due to certain administrative exigencies. In the first bi-monthly policy of the current fiscal, the central bank had, in April, kept all its key rates unchanged for the fourth time in a row. The repo rate, at which RBI lends short-term money to other banks, currently stands at 6 percent, while the reverse repo rate, at which it borrows from banks, is 5.75 percent. The last rate hike was announced by RBI in January 2014 when the repo rate was increased to 8 percent. Since then, the apex bank has either reduced the rate or maintained status quo.
INDIA RECORDS 22% REDUCTION IN MATERNAL MORTALITY RATIO SINCE 2013
India registered a significant decline in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) recording a 22% reduction in such deaths since 2013. According to the Sample Registration System bulletin released yesterday, the MMR has declined from 167 in 2011-2013 to 130 in 2014-2016.
The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is the annual number of maternal deaths from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or
incidental causes) during pregnancy and childbirth or within 42 days of termination of
pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, per 100,000 live births, for a specified year.
INDIA WILL BECOME 5 TRILLION DOLLAR ECONOMY AND THE WORLDS THIRD LARGEST CONSUMER
Addressing the diaspora in Athens, President Ram Nath Kovind reported that India is striving to become a $5 trillion economy and the world's third largest consumer market by 2025. President Ram Nath Kovind also highlighted investment opportunities in the country. According to the World Bank and IMF, India's growth rate is going to be high. Currently India's economy is estimated at $2.5 trillion. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 39 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
WHO COMMENDS INDIA FOR REDUCING MATERNAL MORTALITY RATIO BY 77%
The WHO commended India's progress in reducing the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by 77 percent, from 556 per one lac live births in 1990 to 130 per one lac live births in 2016. This progress puts the country on track towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target of an MMR below 70 by 2030. India's present MMR is below the Millennium Development Goal target. According to WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, Poonam Khetrapal, India has made a concerted push to increase access to quality maternal health services with the coverage of essential maternal health services has doubled since 2005.
The Maternal Mortality Ratio is a key performance indicator for efforts to improve the health and safety of mothers before, during, and after childbirth per country
worldwide. Often referred to as MMR, it is the annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management
(excluding accidental or incidental causes). It is not to be confused with the Maternal Mortality Rate, which is the number of
maternal deaths (direct and indirect) in a given period per 100,000 women of
reproductive age during the same time period.
INDIA WILL GET BLACK MONEY DATA FROM SWISS BANK BY 2019
A bilateral treaty signed between the India and Switzerland, India would start getting data on deposits made by Indians this year in Swiss Banks from 2019. Strong action would be taken against those found guilty of wrongdoing. Under Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) which was introduced by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, an individual could remit up to USD 2,50,000 per year.
The captioned Scheme was introduced on February 4, 2004, as a liberalization measure to facilitate resident individuals to remit funds abroad for permitted current or capital account transactions or combination of both. These Regulations are amended from time to time to incorporate the changes in the regulatory framework and published through amendment notifications. Within the contours of the Regulations, Reserve Bank of India also issues directions to Authorised Persons under Section 11 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. These directions lay down the modalities as to how the foreign exchange business has to be conducted by the Authorised Persons with their customers/constituents with a view to implementing the regulations framed. This Master Direction consolidates the existing instructions on the "Liberalised Remittance Scheme" at one place. Reporting instructions can be found in Master Direction on Reporting
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRES SFDR PROPULSION BASED MISSILE
Making a breakthrough in missile technology, India successfully carried out the flight test of Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) propulsion based missile, according to the Defence Ministry The technology demonstrator flight test was conducted from the Launch Centre-III of Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha.
NASA'S UNMANNED AIRCRAFT 'IKHANA' WILL MAKE SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS EFFICIENT
NASA for the first time successfully flown its large remote- piloted Ikhana aircraft in the public airspace without a safety chase aeroplanes, the US space agency. It is a modified General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Predator B unmanned aircraft system being used by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, for a variety of environmental science and aeronautical research roles.
RARE SPIDER FOUND AGAIN AFTER 150 YEARS
Rare species of spider (Chrysilla volupes) – found in Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) located in the Western Ghats region of Kerala. The spider belonged to the family of jumping spiders (Salticidae) and scientifically named as Chrysilla volupes.
JAPANESE EXPLORER HAYABUSA-2 REACHES UNEXPLORED ASTEROID RYUGU
On Dec 3, 2014, a Japanese Probe, Hayabusa2, was sent on a mission to explore asteroids in deep space. It has reached an asteroid named ‘Ryugu’ meaning ‘Dragon Palace” to collect information about the birth of the solar system and origin of life. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) recited that the probe was successfully settled into an observatory position into a 20km above the asteroid. It is expected that when the probe touches down on the asteroid, it will identify suitable sites to take samples from it to continue the research.
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HAL SU 30 UNDER PRODUCTION FIGHTER JET CRASHES IN NASIK, MAHARASHTRA
A Sukhoi Su-30 jet has crashed in Nashik, Maharashtra. Both pilots have ejected safely before the aircraft crashed. The Su-30 was manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The aircraft was under production and was undergoing pre-delivery trials by HAL, and had not been handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) yet. Su-30 is a twin-engine supersonic multirole fighter that can be used both for air-to-ground assaults and to maintain air superiority. The Sukhoi Su-30 MKI was designed specifically for the IAF's requirements. It is a twin- seater fighter - typically carrying one pilot and one Weapons System Operator (WSO).
NASA TO LAUNCH WORLD'S LIGHTEST SATELLITE DESIGNED BY CHENNAI STUDENTS
The first-year engineering students Harikrishan, P Amarnath, G Sudhi and T Giri Prasad from Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science near Chennai built the 4cm ‘cube’ satellite 'Jaihind-1S' with a 3D printed outer casing from polylactic acid (PLA) nylon material, making it lighter than a medium sized egg, at just 33.39 grams. The satellite has been designed and fabricated for the ‘Cubes in Space’ competition conducted by Colorado Space Grant consortium, NASA and idoodle-learning. It will be flown on a scientific balloon up to an altitude of 70km This satellite will be launched from a NASA facility in the US by August. The previous lightweight satellite developed by Rifath Sharook, also from Tamil Nadu, and launched in the same competition in 2017 had weighed 64 grams.
RUSSIA LAUNCHED SOYUZ 2.1B CARRIER ROCKET
Russia launched a Soyuz-2.1bcarrier rocket from the Plesetsk space center to orbit a Glonass-M satellite. GLONASS - the Russian acronym for 'Global Navigation Satellite System'. The Glonass network provides real-time positioning data for surface, sea and airborne objects around the globe, at an accuracy reportedly on par with the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS). With this Launch, there are now 26 Glonass satellites in orbit.
GLONASS-M also known as Uragan-M (GRAU Index 11F654M and manufacturing code 14F113) are the second generation of Uragan satellite design used as part of the Russian GLONASS radio-based satellite navigation system.
Developed by ISS Reshetnev (Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems), it had its debut
launch in 2003, and is in the process of being phased out. Its production is expected to finish in 2015 and as of July, 2015, its last launch is expected in late 2017. It is an evolution of the previous Uragan (GRAU Index 11F654) second-generation satellites, improving accuracy, increasing power, extending the design life and adding the FDMA L2OF open signal.
The last eight Glonass-M spacecraft in production include new CDMA L3OC open
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SUMMIT AND CONFERENCE
FORTY FOUR G7 SUMMIT WAS HELD IN CANADA
The 44th G7 summit was held on June 8–9, 2018, in Quebec, Canada. This was the sixth time since 1981 that Canada has hosted the meetings. The 44th G7 summit was the first summit for Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hosted this summit. The 45th G7 summit or next G7 summit will be held in 2019 in France.
DONALD TRUMP MEETS KIM JONG UN AT HISTORIC SUMMIT IN SINGAPORE
The historic delegation-level talks between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is underway in Singapore Before they met for delegation-level talks, the two leaders held a brief one-on-one meeting at the Capella Hotel in Sentosa Island Talking to media persons after the one-on-one meeting, US president said that both the nations have a terrific relationship ahead and this historic summit would be successful Sitting next to US president, North Korea leader said there were a number of obstacles to the meeting.
SAGARMALA RECEIVES GOLD AWARD AT 52ND SKOCH SUMMIT 2018
The Ministry of Shipping’s flagship programme for port- led-prosperity ‘Sagarmala’ received the ‘Gold Award’ in infrastructure sector in the recently concluded 52nd Skoch Summit 2018 in New Delhi. The award is to recognize the programme’s contribution to India’s socio-economic transformation and infrastructure development The Sagarmala Programme also received the ‘Order of Merit’ at the Summit.
The Sagarmala Programme is a strategic and customer-oriented 8 trillion investment initiative of the Government of India entailing setting up of new mega ports, modernization
of India's existing ports, development of 14 Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs) and Coastal
Economic Units, enhancement of port connectivity via road, rail, multi-modal logistics parks, pipelines & waterways and promote coastal community development, resulting in boosting merchandise exports by US$110 billion, and creation of generation of 10,000,000 direct and indirect jobs.
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PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI TO EMBARK ON 2-DAY VISIT TO CHINA TO ATTEND SCO SUMMIT
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for a two-day visit to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation- SCO Summit. Briefing media in New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, regional issues will be discussed during the summit He will hold bilateral talks with the Chinese President Xi Jinping followed by the summit event The objective of the SCO summit is to further deepen the existing relationship between the member countries India’s focus will be on strengthening cooperation to fight terrorism, improving connectivity among member countries and bringing peace and stability in the region.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, and
security organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001
in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter was signed in June 2002 and entered into force on 19 September 2003. These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had been members of the Shanghai Five group,
founded on 26 April 1996 in Shanghai.
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HONOURS AND AWARDS
YUVRAJ SINGH AWARDED 'MOST INSPIRING ICON OF THE YEAR FOR SOCIAL WELFARE'
Indian star cricketer Yuvraj Singh awarded the 'most inspiring icon of the year for Social Welfare' award by the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DIFF) for his exemplary contribution in the field of social welfare.
KENDRICK LAMAR RECEIVES PULITZER PRIZE IN MUSIC
Kendrick Lamar received the Pulitzer Prize in music for his album “Damn.” Lamar is the first rapper in history to be given the award. Previous recipients included Bob Dylan, Hank Williams and Duke Ellington. Lamar had received this award at Columbia University.
KAILASH SATYARTHI AND ISRO CHIEF GETS 'SANTOKBAA HUMANITARIAN' AWARD
President Ram Nath Kovind presented the 'Santokbaa Humanitarian Award' to Child rights activist and Noble Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and space scientist A S Kiran Kumar, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Surat, Gujarat. The award was instituted by Shree Ramkrishna Knowledge Foundation (SRKKF) and led by diamond baron Govind Dholakia. The award includes a trophy and a prize money of Rs 1 crore each to the awardees.
VIRAT KOHLI ONLY INDIAN IN WORLDS HIGHEST PAID ATHLETES LIST
India cricket captain Virat Kohliis among the world’s highest- paid athletes, according to a Forbes’ compilation topped by American boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. Kohli, the only sportsperson from India to be featured in the list, is ranked 83rd with earnings of USD 24 million Kohli is not just cricket-crazy India’s biggest name but is also one of the most popular athletes in the world The ‘World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2018’ list is topped by 41-year-old Mayweather, with USD 285 million earnings.
VISHWAS MANDALIK IN NASIK, YOGA INSTITUTE IN MUMBAI RECIEVES PM AWARD
The outstanding contribution for promotion and development of yoga, Vishwas Mandalik from Nasik and the Yoga Institute in Mumbai have been selected as the
recipients of the prime minister's award. The award for 2017 was won by Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 45 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
VIRAT KOHLI TO GET CRICKETER OF THE YEAR AWARD AT BCCI ANNUAL GALA
India captain Virat Kohli's phenomenal batting form has fetched him the BCCI's best cricketer award for two seasons, while World Cup stars Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana were chosen for the women's equivalent of the honor, the Board announced Following his phenomenal show in the past two seasons, Team India captain Virat Kohli will be presented with the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award for the best international cricketer (2016-17 and 2017-18) at the BCCI Awards to be held in Bengaluru on 12th June 2018.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for
cricket in India. The board was formed in December 1928 as a society, registered under
the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act.
It is a consortium of state cricket associations and the state associations select their
representatives who in turn elect the BCCI officials.
SULABH FOUNDER HONOURED WITH JAPAN'S NIKKEI ASIA PRIZE
Noted social reformer and founder of Sulabh International, Bindeshwar Pathak was honoured with Japan’s prestigious Nikkei Asia Prize The award was given under Culture and Community category for his significant work in tackling poor hygiene and discrimination. Launched in 1996, the award honours people in Asia who have made significant contributions in one of the three areas of regional growth; science, technology & innovation and culture & community.
The Nikkei Asia Prize is an award which recognizes the achievements of people and
organizations that have improved the lives of people throughout Asia.
The awards were created and presented by Nikkei Inc, one of the largest media corporations in Japan. Launched in 1996, the program honors people in Asia who have made significant contributions in one of the three areas: regional growth; science, technology and innovation; and culture.
MEGHANA BECOMES 1ST WOMAN IAF FIGHTER PILOT FROM SOUTH INDIA
Flying Officer Meghana Shanbough MR from Karnataka has become the first woman Indian Air Force fighter pilot from south India. Before her, only five other female fighter pilots have joined the ranks. She graduates from the Air Force Academy (AFA) in Dundigal.
INDIAN SHOOTER MANU SETS WORLD RECORD, WINS 8TH GOLD OF YEAR
16-year-old Manu Bhaker won gold medal in 10m air pistol event at ISSF Junior World Cup in Germany. This was Manu's seventh ISSF individual gold in the year, third with a
world record.
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SMRITI MANDHANA TO BECOME FIRST INDIAN CRICKETER TO PLAY IN ENGLANDS KIA SUPER LEAGUE
India Women's Cricket team opener Smriti Mandhana (21 year old) will become the first Indian player to appear in Kia Super League - the women's cricket super league in England. Last month, she captained the IPL Trailblazers in the recent Women's T20 Challenge, which took place ahead of the VIVO IPL Qualifier One. Smriti has also featured in the Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat.
ANUKREETHY VAS FROM TAMIL NADU CROWNED 2018 FEMINA MISS INDIA
Anukreethy Vas, a 19-year-old Tamil Nadu college student, has been crowned Femina Miss India 2018 in a grand ceremony in Mumbai hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Ayushmann Kurrana. She was previously crowned FBB( Female Body Builder) Colours Femina Miss Tamil Nadu.
She represents India at Miss World 2018 while the two runners-up will represent the country at Miss Grand International 2018 and Miss United Continents 2018 respectively.
Miss India or Femina Miss India is a national beauty pageant in India that annually selects representatives to compete in Miss World, one of the Big Four major international beauty pageants. It is organised by Femina, a women's magazine published by The Times Group. Since 2013, Femina also organizes Miss Diva separately which sends representatives to Miss Universe
SYRIAN GIRL BANA ALABED TO BE HONOURED FOR DEFENDING FREEDOM
Syrian child activist Bana Alabed ( Nine year old ) who live-tweeted her experiences in war-torn Syria will be honoured for "defending freedom". Alabed also featured on the TIME magazine's list of 25 Most Influential People on the Internet in 2017.
R PRAGGNANANDHAA HAS BECOME THE SECOND YOUNGEST GRANDMASTER IN CHESS HISTORY
Chennai's R Praggnanandhaa completed his third norm - beating Italian Grandmaster Luca Moroni in the eighth round of the Gredine Open at Ortisei in Italy, he has become the second youngest Grandmaster in chess history at the age of 12 years, 10 months, 13 days. The youngest Grandmaster ever is Russia's Sergey Karjakin, who achieved the feat aged 12 years, 7 months and has held the record since 2002. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 47 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
KIDAMBI SRIKANTH WINS SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Commonwealth Games 2018 gold-medal winning shuttler Kidambi Srikanth , was adjudged as the "Sportsperson of the Year for 2017" by the Sports Illustrated India magazine. The Kidambi Srikanth won 4 Super series titles – Indonesia, Australia, Denmark and France and finished the season as World No. 2. He became the only male Indian badminton player to rise to the No. 1 in badminton rankings
The award categories in which the athletes were felicitated are given below : Team of the Year: Women’s Cricket Team Coach of the Year: Stephen Constantine Young Sportsperson of the Year: Manav Vikas Thakkar Lifetime Achievement Award: Dhanraj Pillay Special Award Living Legend: Balbir Singh Sr.
SRIDEVI NAMED BEST ACTRESS, IRRFAN AWARDED BEST ACTOR AT IIFA
Sridevi won Best Actress (posthumously) for her role in 2017 film MOM, her husband Boney Kapoor collected the prize at the Indian International Film Awards (IIFA), held in Bangkok. Irrfan Khan won the prize for Best Actor in a leading role for Hindi Medium. 'Tumhari Sulu' was named Best Picture. Saket Chaudhary won the best direction award for 'Hindi Medium'. The Best Music Direction Award went to the trinity of Amaal Mallik, Tanishk Bagchi and Akhil Sachdeva for their work on Badrinath Ki Dulhania. Anupam Kher, who has over 500 films to his credit, was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement Award at the ceremony.
PALLAVI DURUA CROWNED AS FIRST TRIBAL QUEEN IN INDIA
Pallavi Durua, who belongs to Odisha's Koraput district, was crowned as the first "Tribal Queen" at the Adi Rani Kalinga Tribal Queen competition held at Utkal Mandap. The prime objective of the event was to promote tribal art and culture.
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MS DHONI SIGNED AS THE FIRST BRAND AMBASSADOR OF SUMADHURA GROUP
Sumadhura Group, one of South India’s city-based realty majors, has roped in MS Dhoni as its first brand ambassador to represent the brand in all their national campaigns, in a multi-year engagement.
Top Builders & Developers in Bangalore and Hyderabad with over two decades of experience in the real estate sector, has established itself as a premier residential property developer in the country with significant presence in Bangalore and Hyderabad. Our unique customer centric business model has a proven track record of innovation
and quality, and has been instrumental in the group’s rapid growth.
WORLD FOOD PRIZE 2018 AWARDED TO ECONOMIST LAWRENCE HADDAD, DR. DAVID NABARRO
Lawrence Haddad, who is a British economist and food policy researcher, and Dr. David Nabarro, who has worked with the World Health Organization and United Nations on health and hunger issues, were named the 2018 World Food Prize recipients. They dedicated their careers to improving the availability of nutritious food for pregnant women and children in an effort to reduce the effects of malnutrition in developing countries.
RAJASTHAN CM VASUNDHARA RAJE CONFERRED WITH CHIEF MINISTER OF THE YEAR AWARD
The award was given at the 52nd Skoch Summit held in New Delhi. Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh was the chief guest at the function. Efforts of the chief minister and state government were appreciated in implementing the prime minister’s Digital India campaign for benefitting the common man
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APPONITMENTS
AMIT KHARE ASSUMES CHARGE AS I&B SECRETARY
An IAS officer Amit Khareassumed charge as Secretary in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on superannuation of Narendra Kumar Sinha. Prior to his appointment, Mr Khare was Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Jharkhand.
DEFENCE SECRETARY SANJAY MITRA GETS ADDITIONAL CHARGE OF DRDO CHAIRMAN
Eminent scientist S Christopher has completed his term as the chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra was given additional charge of the post. Mr. Christopher was in May 2015 appointed as Director General of the DRDO for a two-year term. He was then working as Distinguished Scientist and Programme Director (airborne early warning and control system) and Director, Centre for Air-Borne Systems in the DRDO.
SHARAD KUMAR APPOINTED AS VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER IN CVC
Former NIA chief Sharad Kumar appointed vigilance commissioner in the probity watchdog CVC. The 62-year-old Kumar, a 1979-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre, retired in September last year after heading the National Investigation Agency, an anti-terror probe organization, for over four years. Kumar has been appointed vigilance commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for a term of four years or till he attains the age of 65.
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created in 1964 to address governmental corruption. Recently, in 2003, the Parliament enacted a law
conferring statutory status on the CVC.
It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India
DR. INDER JIT SINGH ASSUMES CHARGE AS SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF COAL
Dr. Inder Jit Singh assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Coal at Shastri Bhawan office, New Delhi. Dr. Inder Jit Singh took over the charge of Secretary which fell vacant after superannuation of Susheel Kumar. In the interim, Secretary Mines, Anil G Mukhim had been holding additional charge as Secretary, Coal. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 50 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
INDIAN-AMERICAN DHIVYA SURYADEVARA TO BECOME CFO OF GENERAL MOTORS
An Indian-American woman, Dhivya Suryadevara named the Chief Finance Officer of the US’ largest automaker, General Motors. Ms. Suryadevara, currently the vice president of corporate finance, will succeed Chuck Stevens, the General Motor’s present CFO, on September 1, 2018. She will report to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mary Barra, 56, who has been head of the automaker since 2014.
BANGLADESH APPOINTED LIEUTENANT GENERAL AZIZ AHMED AS NEW ARMY CHIEF
Bangladesh appointed Lieutenant General Aziz Ahmed as the country's new army chief for a three-year tenure. He would succeed General Abu Belal Mohammad Shafiul Haque, who is set to retire on June 25.
SANDEEP BAKHSHI MAY BE APPOINTED AS INTERIM CEO OF ICICI BANK, REPLACING CHANDA KOCHHAR
ICICI Bank is reportedly planning to appoint Sandeep Bakhshi, CEO of ICICI Prudential Life, as the bank's interim CEO, replacing Chanda Kochhar. The ICICI bank may ask Chanda Kochhar to go on leave until an internal investigation into conflict of interest allegations against her is completed. Bakhshi has been the chief of the life insurance arm since August 2010.
UBER APPOINTS PRADEEP PARAMESWARAN AS NEW PRESIDENT OF INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA
US based ride hailing firm Uber has appointed Pradeep Parameswaran as new President of India and South Asia. Amit Jain was elevated to head the Asia Pacific region for Uber in May this year. Parameswaran joined Uber in January 2017 and was CEO of Den Networks, a Cable TV company in his last stint.
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SBI MANAGING DIRECTOR B SRIRAM TOOK CHARGE AS THE CEO AND MD OF IDBI BANK FOR 3 MONTHS
He has been appointed in place of Mahesh Kumar Jain who was recently made the Deputy Governor of RBI. Sriram currently manages SBI's corporate banking division, which has a loan book exceeding ₹10 lakh crore.
SIKKIM GOVT APPOINTS A.R. RAHMAN AS ITS BRAND AMBASSADOR
Renowned music composer A.R. Rahman has been appointed as the Brand Ambassador of the Sikkim government. He was appointed at the onset of 'The Red Panda Winter Carnival 2018', which aimed at increasing the flow of tourists. Earlier in 2018, Sikkim government had made Mr. A.R. Rahman its Brand Ambassador of tourism and business.
AMIT JAIN APPOINTED AS FIRST INDIAN MD OF L’OREAL INDIA
L'Oréal has appointed Amit Jain as its new India Managing Director, making him the first Indian to lead its operations in the country. He succeeds Jean-Christophe Letellier who, after five years in the role, will take up a new position within L'Oréal Group. Jain has 30 years of experience with companies such as Coca- Cola, Viacom and AkzoNobel.
GOVERNMENT APPOINTED ARIJIT BASU AS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SBI
He will fill the position that fell vacant following the elevation of Rajnish Kumar as the chairman. Executive committee of the central board approved appointment of Anil Kishore as deputy managing director and chief risk officer of the bank for a period up to May, 2020.
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN RE ELECTED AS THE TURKISH PRESIDENT
Recep Tayyip Erdogan had won a 52.54% share of the national vote and re-elected as the Turkish President, extending his 15- year grip on power. Erdogan has won several consecutive elections to become Turkey's longest-serving leader.
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S RAMESH APPOINTED AS CHAIRMAN OF CBIC
Senior bureaucrat S Ramesh has been appointed as chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the apex policy-making body for indirect taxes. He will succeed Vanaja N Sarna, who superannuates on June 30. Sarna was appointed as chief of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), which has now been rechristened as the CBIC, in March last year.
The Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs (CBIC) is the nodal national agency
responsible for administering Customs, GST, Central Excise, Service Tax & Narcotics in India. The Customs & Central Excise/CGST department was established in the year 1855 by the then British Governor General of India, to administer customs laws in India and
collection of import duties / land revenue.
It is one of the oldest government departments of India.
LG APPOINTED 40 YEAR OLD FOUNDING FAMILY MEMBER AS NEW CEO South Korea's fourth largest conglomerate, LG has announced the appointment of Koo Kwang-mo, the 40-year-old son of the family-controlled conglomerate's late Chairman Koo Bon-moo, as its CEO. He has become the fourth-generation leader of the family- controlled conglomerate.
ICICI NAMES EX IAS GIRISH CHATURVEDI AS PART TIME CHAIRMAN
ICICI Bank appointed retired IAS officer and former petroleum secretary Girish Chandra Chaturvedi as part-time non-executive Chairman and independent Director on the bank's Board, from July 1 for three years. Chaturvedi will replace current Chairman MK Sharma after his term ends on June 30.
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PERSONALITY
PEGGY WHITSON MOST EXPERIENCED SPACE WOMAN IN THE WORLD RETIRES AS ASTRONAUT
NASA's record-breaking astronaut, Peggy Whitson, retired on June 15 after a 22-year-long career. She has spent totally 665 days over three International Space Station missions. The 58-year-old is the oldest woman to go into space and also the most experienced female spacewalker, with 10 missions.
PRIME MINISTER OF GEORGIA GIORGI KVIRIKASHVILI RESIGNS AFTER MASS PROTESTS
Giorgi Kvirikashvili, 50, has been the Georgia's prime minister since 2015. He has announced his resignation amid a disagreement with Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of the ruling party. Under the Georgian constitution, a prime minister's resignation leads to the resignation of the entire cabinet.
SHUJAAT BUKHARI, THE EDITOR OF THE NEWSPAPER RISING KASHMIR SHOT DEAD IN SRINAGAR
Senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari, the editor of "Rising Kashmir" newspaper, was shot dead In Srinagar. He was instrumental in organising several conferences for peace in the Kashmir valley. He was also part of the "Track II" or alternate channels dialogue process with Pakistan.
WORLD’S OLDEST SUMATRAN ORANGUTAN “PUAN”DEAD
She was passed away due to old age, at Perth Zoo, in Australia. PUAN : Puan was 62 years old , she was called the “ grand old lady” of Sumatran Orangutans, in Australia. She was born in 1956 , she was gifted to the zoo by a Sultan from Malaysia on New Year 1968. She was honoured by the Guinness book of Records as the oldest living Sumatran Orangutan in the World. She was the mother of 11 children and 54 descendants have inhabited various parts of the
world
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CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISOR ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN RESIGNED FROM THE FINANCE MINISTRY
Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian resigns and leaves from the finance ministry because of "pressing family commitments" and will shift base to the US. Subramanian took charge as the CEA on October 16, 2014 for a period of three years. In 2017, his term was extended for a year. He launched the Government’s online education platform “Swayam”, which became one of the most followed courses in India.
INTEL CEO BRIAN KRZANICH RESIGNS
Intel Corp. removed Brian Krzanich as chief executive officer after the chipmaker learned he had a "past consensual relationship" with an employee, a violation of the company's policies. Chief Financial Officer Robert Swan was named interim chief executive officer, effective immediately.
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SCHEMES
INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES NEW BENAMI TRANSACTIONS INFORMANTS REWARD SCHEME, 2018
The Income Tax Department has issued a new reward scheme titled “Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018” to seek people’s participation in the Income Tax Department’s efforts to unearth black money and to reduce tax evasion. Under the new rewards scheme, a reward up to Rs 1 crore would be given to those who can give specific information in a prescribed manner to the Joint or Additional Commissioners of Benami Prohibition Units (BPUs) in Investigation Directorates of Income Tax Department about:
It was found in many cases that black money was invested in properties in the names
of others, even though benefits were enjoyed by the investor concealing his beneficial ownership in his tax returns. The Government had earlier amended Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, by Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 to make the law stronger. With the objective of obtaining people’s participation in the Income Tax Department’s
efforts to unearth black money and to reduce tax evasion, a new reward scheme titled
“Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018”, has been issued by the Income Tax Department. This reward scheme is aimed at encouraging people to give information about benami transactions and properties as well as income earned on such properties by such hidden investors and beneficial owners.
UNION GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES NEW SCHEME SEVABHOJYOJNA
The Union Ministry of Culture introduced a new scheme called ‘SevaBhojYojna’ to reimburse the central share of CGST and IGST on items for food / Prasad / langar / Bhandara offered free of cost by charitable religious institutions. The scheme launched for financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20 with a total outlay of Rs. 325.00 crores. The main objective of the scheme is to lessen the financial burden of such charitable religious institutions, which provide free of cost without any discrimination to the general public and devotees.
PRESIDENT INAUGURATED UDYAM SANGAM 2018 IN NEW DELHI
On International MSME (Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) Day 2018, the President of India Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Udyam Sangam-2018 in New Delhi It will empower women and weaker sections by providing training to 80 lakh women The President also launched the Solar Charkha Mission which will cover 50 clusters and every cluster will employ 400 to 2000 artisans.
President unveiled a portal of the Ministry of MSME called 'Sampark', which will act as a bridge between the talent pool and those enterprises seeking trained human resources. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 56 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
UNION GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES KRISHI KALYAN ABHIYAAN
The union government announced the launch of 'Krishi Kalyan Abhiyaan' under which farmers in select villages will be given assistance and advice on ways to improve farming techniques and raise their income. An official statement in New Delhi said that the Agriculture Ministry in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of doubling farmers’ income by 2022 has launched the Krishi Kalyan Abhiyaan from 1st June to 31st July 2018.
The scheme aims to help farmers in 25 villages with more than 1,000 population each in 111 Aspirational Districts identified in consultation with Ministry of Rural Development as per directions of NITI Ayog .The Farm science centers called Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) will coordinate and implement the programme. As many as 111 officers have also been made in-charge of one district each for overall coordination and field level monitoring
These officers have been selected from subordinate/attached/autonomous
organizations/PSUs etc of Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
GUJARAT GOVT LAUNCHES SOLAR SCHEME, SURYASHAKTI KISAN YOJNA
This pilot project, estimated to cost Rs 870 crore, will cover 12,400 cultivators and will be launched from July 2. Under Suryashakti Kisan Yojna (SKY), grid- connected solar panels will be provided to over 12,000 cultivators who have already taken regular electricity connections for irrigation purpose. This is a revolutionary step after Jyoti Gram Yojna that brought 24 x 7 electricity in the villages.
Jyotigram Yojana is an initiative of the Government of Gujarat to ensure availability of 24-hour three phase quality power supply to rural areas of the state and to supply power to farmers residing in scattered farm houses through feeders having specially designed transformers.
The scheme was dedicated to the nation by President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in 2006.
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RESERVE BANK OF INDIA AMENDS GOLD MONETISATION SCHEME TO MAKE IT MORE ATTRACTIVE
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made changes in the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) to make it more attractive. The revamping of the scheme is aimed at enabling people to open a hassle-free gold deposit account. The short-term deposits should be treated as bank's on-balance sheet liability. These deposits will be made with the designated banks for a short period of 1-3 years (with a facility of rollover).
Gold Monetization Scheme (GMS) refers to a process wherein a depositor deposits gold (say jewellery, coin, etc.) with a bank which is then lent by the bank to its borrowers (say jewellery makers), after melting into gold bars. This is akin to a normal banking operation (like a savings bank account), but carried out in terms of
gold instead of in rupee.
GMS allows the depositors of gold to earn tax free market determined interest income (denominated in gold but recoverable either in gold or in rupee [mandatorily in rupee if it is deposited for a medium or long term]) from the pure gold they deposit with banks in their “Gold Savings Accounts” and permits the jewelers to obtain their raw
material -gold bars created from the melting of the gold deposited with the banks- as
loans in their “Metal account”. In addition, Banks / other dealers would also be able to monetize their gold.
NOBEL LAUREATE SATYARTHI LAUNCHES APP NAMED REUNITE TO TRACK MISSING KIDS
Nobel Peace Prize recipientKailash Satyarthi, along with union minister Suresh Prabhu, launched a mobile application called 'ReUnite' that tracks missing or abandoned kids. The app is a collaboration between Bachpan Bachao Andolan led by Kailash Satyarthi and IT major Capgemini. The app will be linked with the Delhi Police's database of missing children. The app will use Amazon Web Services based on face recognition technology to match the photographs of missing children with a database to give result after face matching.
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SPORTS
INDIA ENTERS FINAL OF INTERCONTINENTAL CUP TOURNAMENT IN FOOTBALL MATCH
India entered the final of the Intercontinental Cup Football tournament beating Kenya 3-0 in Mumbai. Captain Sunil Chhetri's double strike helped India record a comprehensive victory over Kenya to enter the final Chhetri earned a penalty and broke the deadlock in the 68th minute, while Jeje Lalpekhlua doubled the home team's lead with his piledriver in the 71st minute.
MITHALI BECOMES FIRST INDIAN TO SCORE 2000 T20I RUNS
Indian cricketer Mithali Raj become the first batter from the country to score 2000 runs in T20I cricket. She achieved the feat during India's Women's T20 Asia Cup match against Sri Lanka in Kuala Lumpur. Mithali has now scored 2015 runs in 74 T20Is with the help of 14 half-centuries. She has a decent average of 38.01 with the highest score of 76 not out. Mithali is the seventh woman batter to score 2,000 runs in T20Is, a list which is topped by Charlotte Edwards (2,605), followed by Stafanie Taylor (2,582) and Suzie Bates (2,515).
FRENCH OPEN 2018: COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS
The 2018 French Open (also known as Roland Garros) was a Grand Slam tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 122nd edition of the French Open and the second Grand Slam event of 2018. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. Rafael Nadal was the defending champion in the Men's Singles and won his 11th French Open title. Simona Halep won her first Grand Slam title. It was also the first French Open since 1992 that both the men's and the women's singles competitions were won by the top seeds.
CRISTIANO RONALDO SCORES 1ST HAT-TRICK OF FIFA WORLD CUP 2018
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo (33 year old) scored FIFA World Cup 2018's first hat-trick in the first match of the tournament, in first three minutes and 30 seconds. This hat-trick was the 51st in World Cup history, as well as Ronaldo's 51st career hat-trick. Ronaldo completed his sixth international hat trick when he scored on a free kick in the 88th minute, giving Portugal a 3-3 tie with Spain.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo (33 year old) scored FIFA World Cup 2018's first hat- trick in the first match of the tournament, in first three minutes and 30 seconds. This hat-trick was the 51st in World Cup history, as well as Ronaldo's 51st career hat- trick. Ronaldo completed his sixth international hat trick when he scored on a free kick in the 88th minute, giving Portugal a 3-3 tie with Spain. www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 59 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
TENNIS PLAYER ROGER FEDERER RETURNS TO NO.1 RANKING AFTER WINNING HIS 98TH CAREER SINGLES TITLE
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer clinched his 98th career singles title by defeating Milos Raonic in the Stuttgart Open final and reached the world number one ranking. Now Rafael Nadal is in World No:2 ranking. Roger Federer is 36 years old, born at Basel, Switzerland.
LEWIS HAMILTON WINS FRENCH GRAND PRIX
He regained his position at the top of the Formula One world championship. Hamilton, who had started on pole position, now leads Vettel by 14 points after eight of 21 races. The Briton has 145 and German 131. He had shared the record of 22 with retired seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher.
GERMANY LOSE IT FOR 1ST TIME IN 36 YRS
Five-time champions Brazil failed to win their opening match of a FIFA World Cup 2018 for the first time since 1978 after 1-1 draw with Switzerland. For the first time since 1982, Germany lost their opening match at a FIFA World Cup 2018 with a 0-1 loss to Mexico. Further, this was only the second victory for Mexico against Germany in 12 attempts.
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DEFENCE
OPERATION NISTAR: INDIAN NAVY BRINGS BACK 38 INDIANS FROM CYCLONE-HIT SOCOTRA ISLAND IN YEMEN
In a swift operation, the Indian Navy rescued 38 Indians from Socotra island in Yemen where they were stranded for nearly 10 days after a severe cyclonic storm hit the area. The Navy had diverted its ship INS Sunayna from the Gulf of Aden to Socotra as part of the operation ‘NISTAR’ to rescue the Indians.
ICGS RANI RASHMONI SHIP WAS COMMISSIONED AT VIZAG
Additional Director General of the Coast Guard VSR Murthy commissioned the last of the five Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) project of Indian Coast Guard, ICGS ‘Rani Rashmoni’, in Visakhapatnam. So far four such ships such as ICGS Rani Abbakka, ICGS Rani Avanti Bai, ICGS Rani Durgavati and ICGS Rani Gaidinliu, have been commissioned and are in active service at various locations on the eastern seaboard.
INDIA, RUSSIA TO HOLD MILITARY EXERCISE INDRA 2018
The tri-service joint Russia-India military exercise Indra- 2018 will take place in an Indian military base in the second half of this year. Russia has been a long-standing defence partner of India.
INDIAN ARMY IS OBSERVING THE YEAR 2018 AS THE YEAR OF DISABLED SOLDIERS IN LINE OF DUTY
To honour soldiers who have been disabled in line of duty, while serving the Nation and to celebrate the undying spirit of ‘Soldiering’, Indian Army is observing the year 2018 as the ‘Year of Disabled Soldiers in Line of Duty’.
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AIRCRAFT AIR C 90 CRASHES INTO A CONSTRUCTION SITE IN GHATKOPAR, MUMBAI
The King Air C90 12-seater aircraft, which took off from the Juhu airstrip on a test flight, crashed into a construction site in Jagruti Nagar area of Ghatkopar, Mumbai. Five persons were killed in this accident. This aircraft was sold by the Uttar Pradesh government to a Mumbai- based private company, UY Aviation in 2014.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will conduct a detailed probe into the chartered plane crash in Mumbai.
INDIAN COAST GUARD INTERCEPTOR SHIP COMMISSIONED
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) commissioned an interceptor boat- ICGS C-439 at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) C-439 was commissioned by Additional Director General K Natarajan, Coast Guard Commander of Western Seaboard.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) protects India's maritime interests and enforces maritime law, with jurisdiction over the territorial waters of India, including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The Indian Coast Guard was formally established on 18 August 1978 by the Coast
Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India as an independent Armed force of India. It operates under the Ministry of Defence
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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Term Name Took Left No Photograph Elected (in Vice President Candidate of (birth–death) office office months)
26 Indian Rajendra Prasad 1952 12 May Sarvepalli 1 January 120 National
(1884–1963) 1957 1962 Radhakrishnan
1950 Congress
Sarvepalli 13 May 13 May
2 Radhakrishnan 1962 60 Zakir Husain Independent 1962 1967 (1888–1975)
Zakir Husain 13 May 3 May
3 1967 24 Varahagiri Venkata Giri Independent (1897–1969) 1967 1969
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Term Name Took Left No Photograph Elected (in Vice President Candidate of (birth–death) office office months)
Varahagiri Venkata 3 May 20 July – Giri – 3 – – 1969 1969 (1894–1980)
Mohammad 20 July 24 August – Hidayatullah – 1 – – 1969 1969 (1905–1992)
Varahagiri Venkata 24 August 24 August
4 Giri 1969 60 Gopal Swarup Pathak Independent 1969 1974 (1894–1980)
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Term Name Took Left No Photograph Elected (in Vice President Candidate of (birth–death) office office months)
Gopal Swarup Fakhruddin Ali 11 Indian 24 August Pathak (1974)
5 Ahmed 1974 February 36 National 1974 (1905–1977) 1977 Basappa Danappa Congress Jatti(1974–1977)
Basappa Danappa 11 25 July – Jatti – February 6 – – 1977 (1912–2002) 1977
Basappa Danappa Neelam Sanjiva 25 July 25 July Jatti(1977–1979)
6 Reddy 1977 60 Janata Party 1977 1982 (1913–1996) Mohammad Hidayatullah(1979–1982)
Mohammad Hidayatullah(1982–1984) Indian Zail Singh 25 July 25 July
7 1982 60 National (1916–1994) 1982 1987
Ramaswamy Congress Venkataraman
(1984–1987)
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Term Name Took Left No Photograph Elected (in Vice President Candidate of (birth–death) office office months)
Ramaswamy Indian 25 July 25 July
8 Venkataraman 1987 60 Shankar Dayal Sharma National 1987 1992
(1910–2009) Congress
Shankar Dayal Indian 25 July 25 July Kocheril Raman
9 Sharma 1992 60 National
1992 1997 Narayanan
(1918–1999) Congress
Kocheril Raman 25 July 25 July
10 Narayanan 1997 60 Krishan Kant Independent 1997 2002 (1920–2005)
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Term Name Took Left No Photograph Elected (in Vice President Candidate of (birth–death) office office months)
Avul Pakir Krishan Kant(2002) Jainulabdeen Abdul 25 July 25 July
11 2002 60 Independent Kalam 2002 2007 Bhairon Singh (1931–2015) Shekhawat(2002–2007)
Indian Pratibha Patil 25 July 25 July Mohammad Hamid
12 2007 60 National
(1934–) 2007 2012 Ansari
Congress
Indian Pranab Mukherjee 25 July 25 July Mohammad Hamid
13 2012 60 National
(1935–) 2012 2017 Ansari
Congress
Ram Nath Kovind 25 July Bharatiya
14 2017 Incumbent – Venkaiah Naidu
(1945–) 2017 Janata Party
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CURRENT LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS AND ADMINISTRATORS OF UNION TERRITORIES: Office and union territory Took office Name (past officeholders) (tenure length)
Lieutenant Governor of September 30 2017
Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi Andaman and Nicobar Islands) (267 days)
Administrator of August 22 2016
V. P. Singh Badnore Chandigarh) (1 year, 306 days)
Administrator of Praful Khoda Patel December 30 2016 Dadra and Nagar Haveli) (Additional charge) (1 year, 176 days)
Administrator of August 29 2016
Daman and Diu Praful Khoda Patel (1 year, 299 days) (list)
Lieutenant Governor of December 31 2016
Anil Baijal Delhi (1 year, 175 days)
Administrator of September 6 2016
Farooq Khan Lakshadweep) (1 year, 291 days)
Lieutenant Governor of May 29 2016
Kiran Bedi Puducherry (2 years, 26 days)
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LIST OF NATIONAL PARKS IN INDIA
Name State Established Area (in km2)
Anamudi Shola National Park Kerala 2003 7.50
Anshi National Park Karnataka 1987 417.34
Balphakram National Park Meghalaya 1986 220
Bandhavgarh National Park Madhya Pradesh 1968 446
Bandipur National Park Karnataka 1974 874.20
Bannerghatta National Park Karnataka 1986 104.3
Betla National Park Jharkhand 1986 1135
Bhitarkanika National Park Odisha 1988 145
Bison (Rajbari) National Park Tripura 2007 31.63
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Name State Established Area (in km2)
Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar Gujarat 1976 34.08
Buxa Tiger Reserve West Bengal 1992 760
Campbell Bay National Park Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1992 426.23
Chandoli National Park Maharashtra 2004 317.67
Clouded Leopard National Park Tripura 2003 5.08
Dachigam National Park Jammu and Kashmir 1981 141
Desert National Park Rajasthan 1980 3162
Dibru-Saikhowa National Park Assam 1999 340
Dudhwa National Park Uttar Pradesh 1977 490.29
Eravikulam National Park Kerala 1978 97
Galathea National Park Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1992 110
Gangotri National Park Uttarakhand 1989 2390
Gir Forest National Park Gujarat 1965 1412
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Name State Established Area (in km2)
Gorumara National Park West Bengal 1994 79.45
Govind Pashu Vihar Wildlife
Uttarakhand 1990 472.08
Sanctuary
Great Himalayan National Park Himachal Pradesh, 1984 754.40
Gugamal National Park Maharashtra 1987 361.28
Guindy National Park Tamil Nadu 1976 2.82
Gulf of Mannar Marine National
Tamil Nadu 1980 6.23
Park
Guru Ghasidas (Sanjay) National
Chhattisgarh 1981 1440.71
Park
Hemis National Park Jammu and Kashmir 1981 4400
Inderkilla National Park Himachal Pradesh 2010 104
Indra Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary
Tamil Nadu 1989 117.10
and National Park
Indravati National Park Chhattisgarh 1981 1258.37
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Name State Established Area (in km2)
Jaldapara National Park West Bengal 2012 216
Jim Corbett National Park Uttarakhand 1936 1318.5
Kalesar National Park Haryana 2003 100.88
Kanger Ghati National Park Chhattisgarh 1982 200
Kanha National Park Madhya Pradesh 1955 940
Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National
Telangana 1994 1.42
Park
Kaziranga National Park Assam 1974 858.98
Keibul Lamjao National Park Manipur 1977 40
Keoladeo National Park Rajasthan 1981 28.73
Khangchendzonga National Park Sikkim 1977 1784
Khirganga National Park Himachal Pradesh 2010 710
Kishtwar National Park Jammu and Kashmir 1981 400
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Name State Established Area (in km2)
Kudremukh National Park Karnataka 1987 600.32
Madhav National Park Madhya Pradesh 1959 375.22
Mahatma Gandhi Marine National
Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1983 281.50
Park
Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National
Telangana 1994 14.59
Park
Manas National Park Assam 1990 950
Mandla Plant Fossils National Park Madhya Pradesh 1983 0.27
Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch Gujarat 1980 162.89
Mathikettan Shola National Park Kerala 2003 12.82
Middle Button Island National Park Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1987 44
Mollem National Park Goa 1978 107
Mouling National Park Arunachal Pradesh 1986 483
Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary Rajasthan 1960 288.84
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Name State Established Area (in km2)
Mount Harriet National Park Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1987 46.62
Mrugavani National Park Telangana 1994 3.60
Mudumalai National Park Tamil Nadu 1940 321.55
Mukundra Hills National Park Rajasthan 2006 200.54
Mukurthi National Park Tamil Nadu 2001 78.46
Murlen National Park Mizoram 1991 100
Nagarhole National Park Karnataka 1988 643.39
Namdapha National Park Arunachal Pradesh 1974 1985.24
Nameri National Park Assam 1978 137.07
Nanda Devi National Park Uttarakhand 1982 630.33
Navegaon National Park Maharashtra 1975 133.88
Neora Valley National Park West Bengal 1986 88
Nokrek National Park Meghalaya 1986 47.48
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Name State Established Area (in km2)
North Button Island National Park Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1979 0.44
Ntangki National Park Nagaland 1993 202.02
Orang National Park Assam 1999 78.81
Pambadum Shola National Park Kerala 2003 1.32
Panna National Park Madhya Pradesh 1981 542.67
Papikonda National Park Andhra Pradesh 2008 1012.85
[3] Pench National Park Madhya Pradesh 1977 758
Periyar National Park Kerala 1982 305
Phawngpui Blue Mountain National
Mizoram 1992 50
Park
Pin Valley National Park Himachal Pradesh 1987 807.36
Rajaji National Park Uttarakhand 1983 820
Rani Jhansi Marine National Park Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1996 256.14
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Name State Established Area (in km2)
Ranthambore National Park Rajasthan 1981 392
Saddle Peak National Park Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1979 32.54
Salim Ali National Park Jammu and Kashmir 1992 9.07
Sanjay Gandhi National Park Maharashtra 1969 104
[4] Sanjay National Park Madhya Pradesh 1981 466.7
Sariska Tiger Reserve Rajasthan 1955 866
Satpura National Park Madhya Pradesh 1981 524
Silent Valley National Park Kerala 1980 237
Simbalbara National Park Himachal Pradesh 2010 27.88
Simlipal National Park Odisha 1980 2750
Singalila National Park West Bengal 1986 78.60
Sirohi National Park Manipur 1982 41.30
South Button Island National Park Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1987 0.03
Sri Venkateswara National Park Andhra Pradesh 1989 353
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Name State Established Area (in km2)
Sultanpur National Park Haryana 1989 1.43
Sundarbans National Park West Bengal 1984 1330.12
Tadoba National Park Maharashtra 1955 625
Valley of Flowers National Park Uttarakhand 1982 87.50
Valmiki National Park Bihar 1976 898.45
Van Vihar National Park Madhya Pradesh 1983 4.48
Vansda National Park Gujarat 1979 23.99
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JUNE MONTH QUESTION
1. Which country signs $500 Million 7. What is the name of the protest which Additional Financing For PMGSY ? began by farmers from seven states ? (A) India (B) Pakistan (A) Bharat Bandh (C) Iran (D) Iraq (B) Gaon Bandh (C) Hartal Bandh 2. Which bank Hikes Interest Rate On Fixed (D) Notabal Bandh Deposits ? (A) SBI 8. Who laid the foundation for India’s First (B) Canara Bank Advanced forensic lab in Chandigarh ? (C) Indusind Bank (A) Nirmala Sitaraman {D) Dena Bank (B) Smriti Irani (C)Ram Vilas Paswan 3. Which company concludes acquisition of (D)Sanjay Gandhi US based Wongdoody at $75 million ? (A) Infosys 9. Which scheme Union Government (B) Wipro launched recently? (C) Cognizant (A) SevaBhojYojna (D) Ashok Leyland (B) Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (C) Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima 4. Name the newly appointed Secretary of Yojana the Ministry of Information & (D) Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana Broadcasting? (A) Satyapal Singh 10. How many days did Prime Minister (B) Vijay Gokhale Narendra Modi Visit: India Signs MRA (C) NK Sinha In Nursing With Singapore ? (D) Amit Khare (A) 6 (B) 5 (C)3 (D) 10
5. Which union minister deploys 11. Which department launches new Benami Gatekeeper for foreign funding; launches Transactions Informants Reward web tool to keep an eye on its flow ? Scheme, 2018 ? (A) Shri Rajnath Singh (A) Income tax Department (B) Shri Suresh kumar (B) Telecom Regulatory Department (C) Shri Dinesh Raj (C) External Affairs department (D) Shri Vivek Kumar (D) Information and Technology Department 6. Which minister Launched Online Analytical Tool To Monitor Foreign 12. Who tie up With National Women Contributions Under FCRA ? Commission To Launch Digital Literacy (A) Home Minister Programme ? (B) Finance minister (A )Facebook (C) External Affairs Minister (B) Whatsapp Messenger (D) Railways Minister (C) Snapchat (D) Instagram www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 78 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
13. How many remaining states have been 20. Which among the given magazine covered under final leg of implementing brands has announced to do away with the e-waybill system for intra-State the plastic wrapping of the magazines? movement of goods? (A) Reader’s Digest (A) 6 (B) 8 (C) 11 (D) 7 (B) India Today (C) Pratiyogita Darpan 14. With which of the following countries, (D) National Geographic India will organise an Interfaith Dialogue committed to strengthen the bilateral 21. The 2018 Asia-Pacific Regional understanding? Conference on Early Childhood (A) Malaysia (B) Singapore Development (ECD) took place in which (C) Indonesia (D) Nepal city? To remove ECD (A) New Delhi (B) Kathmandu 15. Which country Successfully Test-Fires C) Beijing (D) Jakarta SFDR Propulsion Based Missile ? (A) India (B) Pakistan 22. Which bank released statement that (C) Finland (D) Scotland Global Economy Is Healthy But Growth Will Slow ? 16. With Which country joined Scotland (A) World Bank Among 4 Teams Inducted In ICC ODI (B) Dena Bank Rankings ? (C) State Bank of India (A) Nepal (B )Pakistan (D) Canara Bank (C) Indonesia (D) India 23. Which state inks pact with Maharashtra 17. Which among the given flowers has been to develop Fintech ecosystem ? named after PM Modi by the (A) Andhra Pradesh government of Singapore? (B) Bihar (A) Jasmine (B) Orchid (C) West Bengal (C) Ginger Lily (D) Hibiscus (D) Himachal Pradesh
18. The DRDO recently conducted the 6th 24. Which bank to announce its second bi- successful test firing of nuclear capable monthly Monetary Policy of 2018-19 ? Agni-5. The long range ballistic missile is (A) Canara Bank a type of______(B) Reserve Bank of India (A) air-to-surface missile (ASM) (C) Dena Bank (B) surface-to-surface missile (SSM) (D) State Bank of India (C) surface-to-air missile (SAM) (D) air-to-air missile (AAM) 25. Which country Swimmer Begins Record Pacific Crossing Attempt ? 19. Who has been appointed as the new (A) French Deputy Governor of RBI? (B) Saudi Arabia (A) Wajahat Hussain (C) Indonesia (B) Ravi Shankar Kaul (D) Iran (C) Rakesh Sinha
(D) Mahesh Kumar Jain
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26. Who launches its online RTI Portal 33. Who Becomes First Indian To Score 2000 recently? T20I Runs? Ques rep (A)Election Commission of India (A) Mithali Raj (B)Bharat sanchar Nigam Limited (B) Poonam Raut (C)Bharat Petroleum (C) Latika Kumari (D)Hindustan Petroleum (D) Jemimah Rodrigues
27. Which country records 22% reduction in 34. Renowned celebrity chef and TV anchor Maternal Mortality Ratio since 2013 ? Anthony Bourdain died recently. He (A) India (B) Pakistan hailed from which country? (C)Saudi Arabia (D)Indonesia (A) Austrlia (B) United States 28. President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated (C) United Kingdom a 73 km long National Highway in which (D) Russia state? (A) Mizoram 35. Which Indian state has decided to scrap (B) Tripura semester system in undergraduate (C) Sikkim courses from this academic session? (D) Arunachal Pradesh (A) Haryana (B) Gujarat 29. Which Indian public authority has (C) Madhya Pradesh launched its online RTI Portal? (D) Himachal Pradesh (A) National Green Tribunal (B) Indian Council of Agricultural 36. The “Business First Portal” has been Research unveiled by which state to promote ease (C) Airports Authority of India of doing business? (D) Election Commission of India (A) Punjab (B) Gujarat C) Haryana (D) Madhya Pradesh 30. which of the space has been approved by NASA? 37. What is the rate of interest offered on (A) TESS revised Gold Monetisation Scheme (B) Juno (GMS) of 2015 on Medium Term (C) InSightMarsLander Government Deposit (MTGD)? (D) Curiosity Mars Rover (A) 2.25% (B) 2.00% (C) 2.75% (D) 2.50% 31. What is the current Repo Rate as per the second bi-monthly monetary policy 38. Who among the following has clinched review of RBI for 2018-19? gold in men’s 800m event at the 2018 (A) 6.00% (B) 6.25% Junior Asian Athletics Championships ? (C) 6.50% (D) 6.75% (A) Kartik Kumar (B) Damneet Singh 32. Which state government has sought (C) Ashish Jakhar share of athletes earnings? (D) Anu Kumar (A) Bihar (B) Haryana
(C) Telangana (D) Andhra Pradesh
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39. Which among the following countries, 45. Which among the following states has India has inked pacts for exporting non- recently transformed a landfill site into a basmati rice and sharing Brahmaputra museum of trees named as ‘Urban forest water data during flood season? – museum of trees’? (A) Kyrgyzstan (B) China (A) Madhya Pradesh (C) Tajikistan (D) Russia (B) Gujarat (C) Maharashtra 40. The IMF expects India to be the fastest (D) Haryana growing economy of 2018 with a growth rate of______percent. 46. Who inaugurates diaphragm wall pylon (A) 7.8% (B) 7.6% of Polavaram project recently? (C) 7.4% (D) 7.5% (A) Shri Chandra Babu Naidu (B) Shri Naresh Iyer 41. Who has been concurrently accredited as (C) Shri Vivek Sharma the next Ambassador of India to the State (D) Shri Suresh Kumar of Eritrea? (A) Mrs. Nagma 47. How many Wi-Fi Choupals in villages (B) Ravindra Prasad Jaiswal and delivery of rail tickets through (C) Akshay Kumar Common Service Centres ? (D) Mr Vikas Swarup (A) 2500 (B) 5000 (C) 1500 (D) 4500 42. Qingdao declaration adopted by the members of SCO at the 2018 Summit 48. Government of India ha slaunched deals with______which of the following app recently to (A) Preventing Plastic Pollution assist rail travellers in registering (B) Combating Terrorism complaints ? (C) Cooperation on Nuclear Weapons (A) Complaint Portal (D) Setting Sustainable Development (B) Rail Complaint Fund (C) Rail SEVA (D) Rail MaDAD 43. Name the bank which has launched first of its kind green deposit product named 49. Who among the following sportsperson Green Future: Deposit? ha swon the women French Open-Tennis (A) Axis Bank Title recently? (B) ICICI Bank (A)Jelena ostapenko (C) Yes Bank (B)Sloane Stephens (D) HDFC Bank (C)Carolina Wozniacki (D)Simona Halep 44. Name the India’s first indigenous long- range artillery gun which is ready for 50. Which place to have its third Mandovi induction after successful testing in all Bridge soon; 85% work completed ? weather conditions. (A) Goa (A) Arjun (B) Tamil Nadu (B) Dhanush (C)Kerala
(C) Rakshak (D) Andhra Pradesh
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51. Where is the Secretariat of BIMSTEC 56. Which of the following countries, India group located? has recently approved an MoU for (A) Naypyidaw cooperation in the field of new and (B) Bangkok renewable energy? (C) Kathmandu (A) France (B) Peru (D) Dhaka (C) Vietnam (D) Brazil
52. How many all women battalions have 57. The US Government has approved a deal been approved by the government of to sell 6 of its ______attack India at the Jammu & Kashmir women in helicpoters to India for USD 930 million. the State Police? (A) AH-64B Apache (A) 5 (B) 3 (C) 2 (D) 4 (B) AH-64C Apache (C) AH-64D Apache 53. Who among the following has been re- (D) AH-64E Apache appointed as the MD & CEO of Yes Bank? 58. The 10th meeting of the Global Alliance (A) Ashok Chawla to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (B) Aditya Puri (GAELF) was held in which city? (C) Shikha Sharma (A) Chandigarh (D) Rana Kapoor (B) Gurugram (C) New Delhi 54. The Cabinet has extended the tenure of (D) Ahmedabad Commission constituted to examine sub- categorization within Other Backward 59. India To Host European Union Film Classes (OBCs) in the Central list Festival from 18th June. This Film to______Festival will premiere in (A) August 31, 2018 (A) Hyderabad (B) December 31, 2018 (B) Kolkata (C) July 31, 2018 (C) New Delhi (D) November 30, 2018 (D) Mumbai
55. The Defence Minister has recently 60. President Ram Nath Kovind will leave inaugurated the first Representative for a 3 nation visit to Greece, Suriname Office of which among the given Defence and PSU in Hanoi, Vietnam? (A) Cuba (B) Nigeria (A) Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (C)Argentina (HAL) (D) Norway (B) Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) 61. Giorgi Kvirikashvili resigns after mass (C) Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) protests. He was the Prime Minister of (D) Bharat Earth Movers (BEML) (A) Hungary (B) Bahrain (C) Georgia
(D) Armenia
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62. India Women's Cricket team opener 69. Brazil fail to win opening FIFA World Smriti Mandhana will become the first Cup match 2018 for first time in Indian player to appear in Kia Super (A) 40 Years (B) 20 Years League - the women's cricket super (C) 35 Years (D) 10 Years league in ______(A) Zimbabwe (B) South Africa 70. RBI increased the FPIs cap on investment (C) England (D) Australia in government security to (A) 40 per cent (B) 20 per cent 63. Which state has prohibited selling liquor (C) 30 per cent (D) 10 per cent from June 23-25 due to State Legislative Council elections? 71. Which of the following countries is not (A) Maharashtra the member of SAARC? (B) Gujarat (A) Afghanistan (B) Pakistan (C)West Bengal (C) Myanmar (D) Maldives (D) Karnataka 72. SAARC Development Fund (SDF) will 64. China will impose further ______percent soon be launching a Social Enterprise tariffs on US imports in tit for tat move. Development Programme (SEDP) in remove India. What is the full form of SAARC? (A) 12% (B) 16 (C)21 (D) 25%7. (A) South American Association of Region Cooperation 65. How many Indian cities will run out of (B) South Asian Association for Regional groundwater by 2020, as per NITI Aayog Cooperation report? (C) South Atlantic Association for (A) 12 (B) 21 (C) 19 (D) 10 Regional Cooperation (D) South African Association for 66. Tennis Player Roger Federer belongs to Region Cooperation which of the following country? 73. The last of the five Fast Patrol Vessel (A) Brazil (FPV) project of Indian Coast Guard, (B) Russia ICGS ‘Rani Rashmoni’ ship was (C) Switzerland commissioned at (D) Germany (A) Kandla (B) Cochin
(C) Kolkata (D) Visakhapatnam 67. Recently, Maharashtra CM Devendra
Fadnavis visited one of "Virgin 74. Lieutenant General Aziz Ahmed has Hyperloop One" test sites, which is been appointed as New Army Chief of located in (A) Sri Lanka (B) Pakistan (A) UK (B) US (C) Bangladesh (D) Afghanistan (C) Australia (D) Germany 75. Who will be appointed as Interim CEO 68. Germany lost their opening match at a of ICICI Bank, replacing Chanda FIFA World Cup 2018 with a 0-1 loss to Kochhar? (A) Brazil (A) Uday Chitale (B) Switzerland (B) Vijay Chandok
(C) Mexico (C) Sandeep Bakhshi
(D) Argentina (D) Anup Bagchi www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 83 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
76. Recently, Which country unveils 4 point 83. Members of the “United Nations Human vision for future cooperation with India? Rights Council” are elected by the U.N. (A) China (B) Australia General Assembly for a term of (C) Canada (D) Spain (A) 6 years (B) 4 years (C) 3 years (D) 5 years 77. Currently India's economy is estimated at 84. United Nations Human Rights Council (A) $3.5 trillion (B) $2.5 trillion consists of how many member states? (C) $4.5 trillion (D) $1.5 trillion (A) 49 (B) 43 (C) 45 (D) 47
78. President Ram Nath Kovind reported 85. J & K Governor Vohra forwarded his that India is striving to become a $5 report to President Kovind for the trillion economy and the world's third imposition of Governor's rule under largest consumer market by which section of the Constitution of J&K? (A) 2030 (B) 2021 (A) Section 92 (B) Section 81 (C) 2020 (D) 2025 (C) Section 90 (D) Section 85
86. Who is the Governor of Jammu and 79. Who is the only Indian Investor in Kashmir? Xiaomi? (A) Jagdish Mukhi (A) Lakshmi Mittal (B) BD Mishra (B) Mukesh Ambani (C) Satya Pal Malik (C) Ratan Tata (D) NN Vohra (D) Gautam Adani 87. England Women registered the highest- 80. U.S suspended joint military exercise ever total in women's T20I cricket history “Freedom Guardian” with which by scoring 250/3 against country? (A) Australia (B) India (A) South Korea (B) China (C) South Africa (D) New Zealand (C) Russia (D) North Korea 88. Chief Economic Advisor Arvind 81. Who has been appointed as Uber’s new Subramanian resigned from the finance President of India and South Asia ministry. He took charge as the CEA on region? (A) 2011 (B) 2012 (A) Pradeep Parameswaran (C) 2013 (D) 2014 (B) Patwari (C) Amit Jain 89. The Red Panda Winter Carnival 2018 (D) Vishpala Reddy was aimed at increasing the flow of tourists in the state: 82. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator (A) Sikkim (B) Haryana Yogiraj Dabhadkar has demanded to (C) Bihar (D) Assam name flyover after Sridevi in (A) Ahmednagar 90. The Yoga Institute in Mumbai has been (B) Nagpur set up in which of the following year? (C) Pune (A) 1991 (B) 1978
(D) Mumbai (C) 1996 (D) 1918
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91. Which of the following city has bagged 97. Kerala’s fourth international airport in the Smart city award under ‘Governance’ Kannur will begin operations in and ‘Built Environment’ categories? (A) December 2018 (A) Bhopal (B) July 2018 (B) Jabalpur (C) September 2018 (C) Surat (D) August 2018 (D) Jaipur 98. Government appointed Arijit Basu as 92. By replacing whom, B V R new Managing Director of Subrahmanyam has been appointed as (A) SBI the Chief Secretary of Jammu and (B) IDBI Bank Kashmir? (C) Canara Bank (A) Vinod Singh (D) Indian Bank (B) BB Vyas (C) Sudarshan Mehta 99. Which country has launched bird- (D) Suresh Kanna shaped drones fitted with a camera, GPS antenna, and satellite communication 93. Indian Army is observing the year 2018 capability, to monitor citizens? as the (A) Germany (B) Russia (A) Year of defeated Soldiers (C) Japan (D) China (B) Year of Great Soldiers (C) Year of Sorrow on Dead Soldiers 100. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (D) Year of Disabled Soldiers in Line of (ADNOC) and Saudi Aramco have Duty signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop 94. Which country has signed an agreement and build an integrated refinery at with Indian engineering services firm (A) Telangana (B) Kerala Core Energy Systems Pvt Ltd? (C)Maharashtra (D) West Bengal (A) Russia (B) Germany (C) Australia (D) Canada
95. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank AIIB in (A) Lucknow (B) Hyderabad (C) New Delhi (D) Mumbai
96. Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected as the President of (A) Iran (B) Armenia
(C) Turkey
(D) Greece www.vetriias.com 9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 85 TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I June 2018
ANSWER KEYS
1 A 21 B 41 B 61 A 81 A 2 A 22 A 42 B 62 C 82 D 3 A 23 A 43 C 63 A 83 C 4 D 24 B 44 B 64 D 84 D 5 A 25 A 45 B 65 B 85 A 6 A 26 A 46 A 66 C 86 D 7 B 27 A 47 B 67 B 87 C 8 B 28 C 48 D 68 C 88 D 9 C 29 D 49 D 69 A 89 A 10 B 30 B 50 A 70 C 90 D 11 D 31 B 51 A 71 C 91 C 12 A 32 B 52 A 72 B 92 B 13 B 33 A 53 D 73 D 93 D 14 C 34 B 54 C 74 A 94 A 15 A 35 D 55 C 75 C 95 D 16 A 36 A 56 B 76 A 96 C 17 B 37 A 57 D 77 B 97 C 18 B 38 D 58 C 78 D 98 A 19 D 39 B 59 C 79 C 99 D 20 D 40 C 60 A 80 A 100 C
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