WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM June 2015 Current Affairs INTERNATIONAL US President Barack Obama Signed USA Freedom Act 2015 into Law US President Barack Obama on 2 June signed the USA FREEDOM Act 2015 in law. The USA FREEDOM stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015. With this, the National Security Agency (NSA) lost its authority to collect the phone records of millions of Americans. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim Is First Woman President of Mauritius Ameenah Gurib-FakimProminent scientist Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was on 5 June sworn in as President of Mauritius. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is an internationally-renowned scientist and biologist. She replaced Kailash Purryag who stepped down as country’s President on 29 May 2015. African Leaders Signed 26 Nation Free Trade Agreement African countries have signed a historic The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) that facilitates creation of Africa’s largest free-trade zone. This free-trade zone will cover 26 countries in an area from southernmost tip of African continent i.e. Cape Town (South Africa) to Cairo (Egypt) in the north. The agreement was signed on 10 June in Egypt. Hwang Kyo-ahn Is The New Prime Minister of South Korea South Korea’s Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn was on 18 June appointed as the country’s new Prime Minister.The National Assembly approved the appointment of Hwang Kyo-ahn by a vote of 156-120. INDIA & WORLD India and Sweden Signed Six Agreements India and Sweden on 1 June signed six agreements, including in the field of polar research and for boosting trade. Both sides also signed a MoU for cooperation in the field of micro, small and medium enterprises. The agreements were signed in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and Swedan Prime Minister Stefan Lofven at Rosenbad in Stockholm, Sweden. India – US signed Defence Framework Agreement India and the US on 3 June signed a new strategically important 10-year defence framework agreement envisaging joint development and manufacture of defence equipment and technology including jet engines, aircraft carrier design and construction. The framework was signed by the Manohar Parrikar, India’s Defence Minister and Ashton Carter, US Secretary of Defence. India – Bangladesh Ratify Historic Land Boundary Agreement India and Bangladesh on 6 June signed ratification pact to operationalise the historic Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).It was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.According to the agreement 111 enclaves with a total area of 17,160.63 acres from India will be transferred to Bangladesh, while 51 enclaves of area 7,110.02 acres will be transferred to India. WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM V+TEAM WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM India – Netherlands Signed Agreements India and the Netherlands on 5 June signed a number of agreements, including to collaborate in building dredgers in India as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative and manufacture vaccines against measles and rubella in India.The agreements were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Netherland Mark Rutte in New Delhi after the two leaders held discussions on various issues related to the region and the world. India – Thailand Signed Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty India and Thailand on 29 June signed the Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT) and exchanged instruments of ratification on the extradition treaty signed in 2013. The tax treaty provides for the framework of avoiding double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes so as to promote bilateral economic cooperation. NATIONAL Union Government Announced Rs 1500 crore INIP Union Government on 13 June launched an Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) of 1,500 crore rupees as per the mandatory provision under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND), 2010. This pool will be the 27th such market pool globally. This insurance pool was launched to address the concerns of the clauses in the CLND Act, which give the operator the Right to Recourse and allow it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) is the fund operator of this Rs. 1,500 crore Indian insurance pool and it includes 11 other non-life insurers as associates of the pool. Union Cabinet Approved Housing For All By 2022 Mission The Union Cabinet on 17 June gave its approval for Housing for All by 2022 Mission aimed at providing housing facilities to all eligible people in urban areas by 2022. It will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and the States and Union Territories (UTs) are given greater autonomy in execution of the mission. Union Cabinet also approved increasing India’s solar power capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) to 1 Lakh Mega Watt (MW) by 2022. Union Cabinet Approved Bureau of Indian Standards Bill 2015 The Union Cabinet on 17 June gave its approval to introduce Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 in the Parliament. It will repeal the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986.The bill is intended to improve the quality of goods, services and systems in the country. Union Cabinet Approved Six new IIMs In India The Union Cabinet on 24 June 2015 approved setting up of six new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the country. These new IIMs will be located at Amritsar (Punjab), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sambalpur (Odisha), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh) and Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). The Union Cabinet also gave its approval to the proposal of the Ministry of Culture for setting up of a National Memorial at Lala Ka Tola, Sitab, Diara, District Chhapra (Saran) in Bihar – the birth place of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan. STATES WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM V+TEAM WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM Maharashtra Govt Approved new Renewable Energy Policy Maharashtra government has approved a new Renewable Energy Policy which aims at achieving 14,400 MW of installed capacity over a period of five years i.e. till 2020. The approval decision of new policy worth 4,156.43 crore rupees was taken by state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra in Mumbai. The policy aims at achieving installed capacity of renewable energy of 21,100 MW by 2020 from current installed capacity of 6,700 MW. World Bank Approves $ 250 million Loan For Jammu & Kashmir Multi-lateral lender World Bank on 3 June approved 250 million US dollars loan for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The project will be funded by loan credit from International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank’s concessionary with a maturity of 25 years, including a 5 year grace period. Haryana’s Jind, Karnal & UP’s Muzaffarnagar Included In NCR Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on 9 June announced that Jind and Karnal districts of Haryana and Muzaffarnagar of Uttar Pradesh have been included in the National Capital Region (NCR). With this the total number of districts included in NCR has risen to 22. Kerala Govt Declares June 22 as ‘Snake Bird Day’ Kerala Government has declared June 22 as ‘Snake Bird Day’ in a bid to protect the endangered species which is also known as Indian darter. CONFERENCES 41st G7 Summit Held In Germany G7 Summit 2015 was held at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria, Germany from 7- 8 June 2015. This was the 41st G7 summit and the theme for the summit was “Think Ahead. Act Together”. The Summit focused on the global economy as well as on key issues regarding foreign, security, environment and development policy. After the talks, the leaders of the G7 committed to raising a 100 billion US dollars fund through public and private sources to combat the rising global temperatures and agreed to implement international mechanisms to bolster global healthcare security by creating a financial instrument at the World Bank to react better to pandemics. The Summit was attended by all the seven members’ viz., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the European Commission (EC). EC is a permanently welcome participant in all meetings and decision-making since 1981. AWARDS & HONOURS Bangladesh Conferred Award of Liberation War Honour On Atal Bihari Vajpayee Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was conferred Award of of Bangladesh Liberation War Honour for his active role in the country independence struggle and consolidating India friendship with the Bangladesh.Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi received this award on behalf of Former PM from Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid at a ceremony at Bangabhaban, the President house on 7 June 2015. WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM V+TEAM WWW.VIDYARTHIPLUS.COM Historian Ramachandra Guha Selected For Japan’s Fukuoka Prize Eminent Historian-writer Ramachandra Guha has been selected for Japan’s Fukuoka Prize 2015 in n the Academic category. Fukuoka Prize honours those who have made outstanding contributions to academia, arts and culture across Asia. Sanjay Subrahmanyam Selected For Sangitha Kalanidhi Award 2015 Renowned Carnatic singer Sanjay Subrahmanyan was on 21 June selected for Sangita Kalanidhi award for his outstanding achievements in Carnatic music.The Sangita Kalanidhi is the highest honour given to Carnatic musicians in India. Ravi Shankar Conferred With Colombia’s Highest Civilian Award Indian spiritual leader, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was on 25 June conferred with the Columbia’s highest civilian award Orden de la Democracia Simon Bolivar en el grado de cruz Caballero (Order of the Democracy Simon Bolivar) by Columbia. The award has been given in recognition to the spiritual leader’s contribution in spreading the message of peace in society, inter-mediation in war, reducing stress and combating violence through yoga and breathing exercises.