Current Affairs – June 13, 2018

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S.No Topic Page Number

1 Important Days 2

2 World News 3 - 4

3 National News 5 - 7

4 State News 8 - 9

5 Banking & Economy 10 - 11

6 Sports 12

7 Awards & Honours 13

8 Appointments & Resignation 14 - 15

9 Obtiuaries 16

Important Days

International Albinism Awareness Day – 13 June

 On 13th June 2018, International Albinism Awareness Day was observed all over the world.  In 2014, the UN General Assembly declared 13 June as International Albinism Awareness Day with effect from 2015.  Albinism is a genetic condition that causes very little or no pigmentation in the skin, hair, and eyes.  The International Albinism Awareness Day is observed to preserve the rights of persons with albinism and take efforts to ensure equal access for them to employment, education, justice and good health.  The theme for International Albinism Awareness Day 2018 is: “shining our light to the world”.

World News

11 countries awarded for elimination of LF in 10th Meeting of Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis

 On June 13, 2018, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Shri J P Nadda inaugurated the 10th meeting of Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GAELF) in New Delhi.  Shri Nadda also gave away the GAELF awards to 11 countries- Cambodia, Cook Islands, Egypt, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Niue, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Togo, Tonga and Vanuatu, for successfully interrupting the transmission.  He also released the Accelerated Plan for Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) 2018 for India.  100 districts out of total 256 endemic districts have achieved elimination target and stopped Mass Drug Administration after successful validation by Transmission Assessment Survey (TAS) and are under post MDA surveillance.

India, Kazakhstan to enhance military-industrial cooperation and cyber security

 On June 13, 2018, India and Kazakhstan to develop bilateral relations in cooperating in the military-industrial field.  This decision was taken during the 5th Joint Inter-Governmental Kazakh-Indian Working group meeting held in Astana  The agreement was between The Vice-Minister of Defense and Aerospace Industry ShaymergenovTimur and Joint Secretary (Planning and International Cooperation), Ministry of Defence, Shambhu Kumaran.  This would boost interaction in the field of cyber security and peace making.

2nd edition of India-US colloquium on Earth Observations and Sciences for Society and Economy by CSIR and NOAA

 On June 11, 2018, Organized by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research)-NIO and US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the 2nd edition of India-US colloquium was inaugurated.  It is an event that aims to focus on the emerging earth sciences issues.  Consists of 200 delegates from India and US.

 India today announced that it would share data obtained by its ocean buoys, positioned outside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), with others nations without any restrictions.  This would help forecast monsoon as well as provide cyclone warnings.  The data from RAMA buoy (marooned outside the EEZ) is given to students and researchers free of cost and now available to everybody.

National News

Government approves revision of carpet area of houses eligible for interest subsidy under PMAY (Urban) under Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme

 On June 13, 2018, the government has increased the carpet area of houses to be covered under Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) for interest subsidy for the middle income group under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).  For MIG -I the carpet area has been increased to 160 sqmetres or 1722 sqft from 120 sq m  For MIG II, the carpet area has been increased to 200 sqmetre or 2153 sqft from 150 sq m.  This would boost the construction sector and enhance economic activity for the increased area coverage.  Individuals with annual income of Rs.6 to 12 lakhs would qualify for MIG-I category.  Individuals with annual income of Rs.12 to 18 lakhs would qualify for the MIG-II category.  Interest Rate for MIG –I is 4 % and for MIG-II is 3% with a maximum tenure of 20 years.  House Loan limits has been revised from Rs 28 lakh to Rs 35 lakhs for metropolitan cities and Rs.20 lakh to Rs.25 lakh for other centres provided the overall cost does not exceed Rs.45 lakh and Rs.30 lakh respectively. This would fall under Priority Sector Lending.

Shri Thawarchand Gehlot chairs ‘3rdMeeting of National Council of Senior Citizens’ in New Delhi

 On 13th June 2018, Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment chaired the “3rdMeeting of National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSrC)” conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in New Delhi.  The NCSrC advises Central and State Governments on issues related to welfare of senior citizens and improvement of their quality of life.  The NCSrC meets at least two times a year. Its first meeting was held on 30th August 2016. The second meeting was held on 19th June 2017.  Thaawarchand Gehlot said that the recently launched “Rashtriya Vayoshree Yojana” offers Physical Aids and Assisted Living Devices to Senior citizens in the BPL category.

 290 districts have been identified for 2017-18 and 2018-19, out of which assessment has been done in 49 districts and camps held in 29 districts so far. 34069 senior citizens belonging to BPL families have benefitted.

Cashless Ticketing through ‘Utsonmobile’ app developed by CRIS (Centre for Railway Information System)

 The Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) has developed a mobile based application called ‘utsonmobile’ for cashless train ticketing.  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 lets to maintain user profile management and booking history.  It is very handy, free and available for Android and Windows smart phone. It can be downloaded from Google Play Store or Windows for free.  The passenger has to register using his/her mobile number, name, city, default booking train type, class, ticket type, number of passenger and frequently travelling routes.  After registration, Railway Wallet (R-Wallet) will be created automatically with zero balance to the passenger. No extra cost will be charged for creating R-Wallet.  The R-Wallet can be recharged at any UTS counter or through recharge option in the https://www.utsonmobile.indianrail.gov.in website.

NITI Aayog to launch Composite Water Management Index to rank states for water management under ‘SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas’

 On June 13, 2018, NITI Aayog the think tank has launched ‘Composite Water Management Index’ to fulfill cooperative and competitive federalism among states and Union Territories.  To assess and improve the performance in efficient management of water resources.  The index would provide useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.  Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (WR,RD&GR) shall be releasing the Index.  To fulfill the objective of ‘Sab kaSaath, Sab kaVikas’.

50 clusters of Solar Charkha Mission to be launched in June 27, 2018 by President

 On June 13, 2018, The government approved the Solar Chakra Mission of the Ministry of Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) which will be launched by the President, Ram Nath Kovind on June 27, 2018 in New Delhi.  The Minister of State for MSME Mr.Giriraj Singh released a booklet on the 4 years’ achievement of his Ministry.  The Mission will cover 50 clusters and every cluster will employ 400 to 2000 artisans.  It will provide subsidy of Rs. 550 crore to the artisans.  15 new state-of-the-art technology centers are being set up all over the country including North-East, of which 10 centers will become operational by March 2019.  Each center is being built at a cost of around Rs. 150 crore.  The 10 centers are located in Durg (Chhattisgarh), Bhiwadi (Rajasthan), Rohtak (Haryana), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Sitarganj (Uttarakhand), Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Bhopal (M.P.), Kanpur (U.P.) and Puducherry.  Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) budgetary allocation for FY 2018-19 has been increased by 75% to Rs. 1,800 crore.

Cabinet approves reconstitution of North Eastern Council (NEC)

 The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved reconstitution of North Eastern Council (NEC) to bring the Council under the direct control of the Home Ministry.  The council, which is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North Eastern region, was till now chaired by the Development Of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister.  The reconstituted NEC will have Home Minister as the ex-officio chairperson of the Council. The DoNER Minister will be the Vice Chairman.  The new arrangement would provide a forum for discussing inter-state matters more comprehensively.

State News

Rs. 14.30 crore sanctioned for Block level sports in Jammu & Kashmir by the Union Sports Ministry

 Grants-in-aid worth Rs. 14.30 crore has been sanctioned for Bock level sports in Jammu and Kashmir under the ‘Khelo India’ Scheme by the Union Sports Ministry.  Funds of Rs. 10 lakh per Block will be spent under the scheme in all the 143 Blocks of 22 Districts of Jammu & Kashmir.  The Central grant of Rs. 14.30 crore will be utilized to offer soft support like coaches, equipments, consumables, technical support, organizing competitions including boarding and lodging facilities and travelling expenses for the participants etc.  Sports competitions will be conducted based on popularity of the games in a particular district.  A District Level Committee chaired by Deputy Commissioner will carry out this scheme.  Superintendent of Police and District Representative of the J&K Sports Council are also members of this Committee.  Implementation of this sports scheme at the Block level in all the 22 Districts of Jammu and Kashmir was announced by the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his visit to the state on 7th and 8th June 2018.

NDMA to conduct flood preparedness exercise in Uttar Pradesh

 On 13th June 2018, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted a table-top exercise at the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.  This exercise was conducted in the run-up to a State-level mock exercise on flood preparedness that will be conducted in 23 flood-prone districts of Uttar Pradesh on 14th June 2018.  The exercise is held in collaboration with State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).  All districts have confirmed that their Disaster Management Plans (DMPs) had been updated, Response Teams identified and other preparations for the exercise had been done.  The table-top exercise was performed based on scenarios created in collaboration with State Department based on flood mapping and similar hazards.

 Independent observers were informed about their role and standard feedback forms were given to them.  Sites for the mock exercise and administrative arrangements were decided. A Coordination-cum-Orientation Conference was also held on 5th June 2018.  These preparatory exercises were attended by senior-level officials of Uttar Pradesh, Army, Air Force and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).  District collectors and their teams took part in these exercises through video conferencing.

Kerela State Literacy Mission Authority initiates ‘Water Literacy’ campaign with 70000 students to create awareness about importance of water

 On June 13, 2018, the Kerela State Literacy Mission Authority has announced the launch of a ‘Water Literacy’ campaign to create awareness about the importance and optimal use of the resource and conservation in the state.  The campaign would involve 70000 students for creating the awareness.  Every student will take classes about water conservation for 15 families in their locality.  10 lakh people will be benefited from the campaign scheduled to be held from June 20 to September 20.  State Education Minister Prof C Raveendranath released a special course book containing 16 chapters for the purpose.

Odisha can produce 100 million tonnes of steel out of 300 million tonnes: Steel Minister Giriraj Singh

 On June 13, 2018, Union Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh on his interaction with MDs/CEOs of major steel producing units located in the State of Odisha stated that in 2017-18, India produced more than 100 million tonnes of steel  India has become the second largest steel producing country.  Odisha is rich in minerals and mines and has a potential to produce 100 million tonnes of steel out of 300 million tonnes envisaged in National Steel Policy by the year 2030-31.

Banking & Economy

Overseas Private Investment Corporation gives $5 mn loan to Grameen Impact via IndusInd Bank to support MSMEs

 On June 13, 2018, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) under the US government gives $5 million or Rs.33.5 crore to Grameen Impact Investments to support domestic small and medium enterprises.  This loan comes via IndusInd Bank through an agreement.  Grameen Impact is supported by Gramin Capital India including many leading impact investors like Acumen.  India has rapidly become a global leader in impact investing, with over USD 5 billion of investments in this space.

NSE launches ‘Tri-Party Repo Market platform’ to facilitate repo in corporate debt securities

 On June 13, 2018, National Stock Exchange (NSE) has launched a ‘Tri-party Repo Market Platform’ for repurchase of corporate debt security.  It is a repo contract where a third entity, apart from the borrower and lender, called tri- party agent acts as an intermediary to facilitate services like collateral selection, payment and settlement, custody and management during the life of the transaction.  It provides opportunity to borrow against the securities and provides short-term liquidity to participants.  This would increase demand for corporate bonds and may provide a boost to much needed liquidity in the corporate bond market  Under corporate bond repo a firm or a bank pledges corporate bonds with another company or lender to garner funds. The entity, who makes pledges, agrees to repurchase the bonds at a specified price.  Axis Bank Ltd and ICICI Securities Primary Dealership are the first few members who have participated on the platform.

SEBI constitutes Expert panel for rules to attract direct listing of Indian firms abroad

 On June 13, 2018, Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has set up a panel to make listings of startups attractive.  The listings currently exist in Institutional Trading Platform (ITP) Framework.  The expert Panel would submit the report to SEBI within a period of one month.

 The ITP has facilitated listing of new age companies in sectors like e-commerce, data analytics, bio-technology and other startups.  Members of the group include representatives from the Indian Software Product Industry Round Table (iSPIRT), The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE), the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA), law firms, merchant bankers, and stock exchanges.  SEBI board approved doubling the investment limit by angel funds in venture capital undertakings to Rs 10 crore to drive the startups.

Cabinet approves HDFC Bank’s proposal to raise additional share capital of Rs 24,000 crore

 The Union Cabinet on has approved a Rs 24,000 crore foreign direct investment (FDI) as additional share capital into private sector HDFC Bank.  Even with this infusion, the FDI foreign equity will remain capped below 74 percent. The current foreign equity holding is 72.62 percent.  The proposed investment is expected to strengthen the capital adequacy ratio of the bank.

Sports News

USA, Canada & Mexico wins bid to host 2026 Football World Cup: FIFA

 On June 13, 2018, FIFA’s congress voted USA, Canada and Mexico to host 2026 Football World Cup.  Morocco would miss out for the fifth time.  North America got 134 votes against 65 votes of Morocco.  The 2026 tournament will be the first expanded tournament featuring 48 teams, up from the current 32-team tournament, which begins in Russia on 14th June 2018.  Of the 80 games, 10 matches will be held in Canada, 10 in Mexico and 60 in the U.S. with the final played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, home to the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets.  The U.S hosted the World Cup previously in 1994 while Mexico hosted it in 1970 and 1986. Canada has never hosted a men’s World Cup but held the women’s tournament in 2015.  This bid would generate $14bn in revenue and make an $11bn profit for FIFA. The bid also expects record ticket and hospitality revenue.  The 2022 tournament will be hosted by Qatar while the 2018 edition kicks off in Moscow.

Gavit Murali Kumar bags gold in men’s 10,000 metre race at Gouden Spike meeting in Leiden, the Netherlands

 On 13th June 2018, long distance runner Gavit Murali Kumar won gold in men’s 10,000 metre race at the Gouden Spike meeting in Leiden, The Netherlands.  Gavit Murali Kumar is 21 years old. He hails from Gujarat. He recorded a personal best of 28 minutes 43.34 seconds.  It was the best by an Indian in the ongoing season. Also, it is the second fastest time by an Indian in the distance race, behind that of long-distance coach Surendra Singh’s national record of 28 minutes 02.89 seconds set at Vigo, Spain in 2008.

Awards and Honours

Sulabh founder honoured with Japan’s Nikkei Asia Prize

 Noted social reformer and founder of Sulabh International, Bindeshwar Pathak, has been honoured with Japan’s prestigious ‘Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture and Community’ 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: regional growth; science, technology and innovation; and culture and community.  Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Infosys Chairman Narayan Murthy are among the few Indians who have won the prize in the past.  The Nikkei Asia Prizes were created in 1996 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Nikkei Inc’s main Japanese-language newspaper.

Kohli conferred with Polly Umrigar award & Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana received their maiden BCCI awards for being best international cricketer (women)

 On 12th June 2018, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli was awarded the Polly Umrigar Award for the best international cricketer at the BCCI Annual Awards in Bengaluru.  Virat Kohli was awarded for his outstanding performance in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.  Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana were awarded their first BCCI awards for the best international cricketer (women) for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 season, respectively.  Former England captain Kevin Pietersen delivered the 6th MAK Pataudi Memorial Lecture at the BCCI award. He has become the first non-Indian cricketer to deliver the opening speech of the award ceremony.

Appointments & Resignation

Yes Bank reappoints Rana Kapoor as MD &CEO

 On 12th June 2018, shareholders of Yes Bank approved the reappointment of Rana Kapoor as MD & CEO of Yes bank for a further period of 3 years with effect from 1st September 2018.  Rana Kapoor’s reappointment is subject to final approval by the RBI. The following appointments were also made in the meeting: Subhash Chander Kalia as non-executive non-independent director and Rentala Chandrasekhar and Pratima Sheory as independent directors for a period of 5 years.  Also a proposal to borrow or raise funds up to Rs 30,000 crore in Indian or foreign currency was approved.  A special resolution was passed in this regard, increasing the total borrowing limit of the bank to Rs 1.1 lakh crore.  The meeting was chaired by Ashok Chawla, non-executive chairman of the bank. It was attended by all nine directors on board.

Inder Jit Singh appointed as coal secretary

 The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has cleared the appointment of Inder Jit Singh as the coal secretary.  Inder Jit Singh is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1985 batch of Kerala cadre.  He was the additional secretary, coordination in the cabinet secretariat. On 1st May 2018, the additional charge of coal secretary was given to mines secretary Anil Mukim after Susheel Kumar superannuated in April 2018.  Vijay Kumar appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Papua New Guinea  On 12th June 2018, Vijay Kumar was appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the independent State of Papua New Guinea.  Vijay Kumar (YOA: 2003) is at present the Counsellor, Embassy of India, Stockholm. He has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.  He will take up this new assignment soon.

Former financial services secretary DK Mittal joins Arohan Financial Services as chairman

 On 13th June 2018, former financial services secretary DK Mittal assumed office as the chairman of Arohan Financial Services.  Arohan Financial Services is a microfinance company. It is planning to publicly list its shares in 2018.  DK Mittal is an Indian Administrative Service officer of 1977 batch of Uttar Pradesh cadre. He will be the independent chairman to Arohan’s board.  Arohan Financial Services is a part of the Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group. It is the seventh largest MFI (microfinance institutions) in terms of outstanding loans at the end of 2017.

Obtiuaries

Bhayyu Maharaj passed away

 On 12th June 2018, Spiritual guru Bhaiyyu Maharaj committed suicide by shooting himself dead at his residence in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.  Bhayyu Maharaj was 50 years old. He was popular among political leaders mainly from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.  His original name was Uday Singh Deshmukh. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that Bhaiyyu Maharaj had set up Suryoday Parivar and carried out social welfare schemes in Vidarbha.  Bhayyu Maharaj had left behind a suicide note that showed that he was depressed. The Madhya Pradesh government had recently included him in a committee of saints to conserve river Narmada.  He was offered a state minister status. But he refused it saying that posts meant nothing for saints.