Current Affairs 15, June – 2017 – Gorakhpur airport terminal inaugurated
Current Affairs 15, June – 2017 – Gorakhpur airport terminal inaugurated
NATIONAL
Cabinet approves 5% subsidy on short-term farm loan interest:
The Cabinet has approved the extension of the interest subvention scheme for farmers to 2017-18. Short-term crop loans up to Rs. 3 lakh will receive a subvention of 5%, effectively reducing the rate for farmers to 4%.
The government has earmarked a sum of Rs. 20,339 crore for this scheme and the interest subvention scheme will continue for one year and will be implement by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Reserve Bank of India.
Cabinet gives ex-post facto approval to India-Palestine agriculture pact:
The Union Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval to an agreement signed between India and Palestine in agriculture.
The Memorandum of Understanding MoU provides for cooperation in agricultural research, veterinary field, including capacity enhancement of Palestinian veterinary services and animal health, irrigation and climate change.
Palestine
- Currency: Israeli new shekel, Egyptian pound, Jordanian dinar
- Capital: East Jerusalem
- Prime Minister: Rami Hamdallah
Cabinet approves agreement on youth matter between India and Armenia:
The Union Cabinet approved Memorandum of Understanding between India and Armenia on cooperation on youth matters.
The objective of the MoU is to strengthen and encourage cooperation between the two countries on the issues related to youth.
Apart from a MoU on Youth matters, the two countries had also signed agreement on peaceful uses of outer space and a programme of cultural cooperation.
Armenia
- Currency: Armenian dram
- Capital: Yerevan
- Prime Minister: Karen Karapetyan
Cabinet approves Financial Resolution, Deposit Insurance Bill:
The Cabinet has approved a proposal to introduce the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill 2017. The Bill would provide for a comprehensive resolution framework for specified financial sector entities to deal with bankruptcy situation in banks, insurance companies and financial sector entities.
The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance, Bill 2017 when enacted, will pave the way for setting up of the Resolution Corporation. The Resolution Corporation would protect the stability and resilience of the financial system and protecting the consumers of covered obligations up to a reasonable limit and protecting public funds to some extent.
Cabinet approves India-Bangladesh MoU for promoting cooperation in IT&E:
The Union Cabinet approved signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bangladesh for promoting cooperation in the field of Information Technology and Electronics.
The MoU aims to explore business opportunities, IT&E market in Bangladesh by Indian IT companies and attract investment in Indian electronics and IT sectors in India. This MoU will remain in force for a period of five years.
Bangladesh:
- Currency: Bangladeshi taka
- Capital: Dhaka
- Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
Central Statistics Office (CSO) to change GDP base year to FY 2018:
Statistics Minister D V Sadananda Gowda announced that statistics ministry is set to change the base year of national accounts to 2017-18 from 2011-12 after completion of the household consumer expenditure survey and labour force data by the end of 2018.
- CSO Headquarters: New Delhi
Gorakhpur airport terminal inaugurated:
The temple town will have air connectivity with Mumbai and Nepal’s Capital Kathmandu; Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the first terminal of Gorakhpur airport.
Uttar Pradesh
- Capital: Lucknow
- Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
- Governor: Shri Ram Naik
Kala-azar eradication campaign in Jharkhand:
The Jharkhand government announced to launch a campaign to eradicate Kala-azar disease from July 1 to 31 with patients getting free medicine, treatment and Rs. 200 per day for one month.
To launch the month-long ‘Mukhya Mantri Kala-azar Unmulan Abhiyan’, Chief Minister Raghubar Das said four districts – Dumka, Godda, Sahibganj and Pakur – are affected with the disease.
Jharkhand
- Capital: Ranchi
- Governor: Draupadi Murmu
INTERNATIONAL
AUSINDEX-17: India, Australia to Participate in Joint Maritime Exercise:
Navies of India and Australia will participate in bilateral maritime exercise AUSINDEX-17 this week with an aim to enhancing interoperability and cooperation between the two forces.
Indian naval ships Jyoti, Shivalik and Kamorta are on a port visit to Freemantle, Australia from June 13 to 17 and will join the exercise. This would be the second edition of the exercise with the maiden one having been conducted at Visakhapatnam in 2015.
Australia
- Currency: Australian dollar
- Capital: Canberra
- Prime Minister: Malcolm Turnbull
V K Singh to attend BRICS foreign ministers meet in China:
Minister of State for External Affairs General V K Singh will represent India at the two-day BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting being held in china from June 18 to 19, where China was expected to unveil its agenda for this year’s Summit of the five-member bloc.
Japan enacts controversial anti-terror law:
Japan enacted a controversial anti-terror law that sparked street protests and warnings from critics that it would stomp on citizens’ privacy rights.
The new law allows investigators to charge an individual or organisation which conspires to engage in terrorism or other serious crimes.
Japan:
-
- Capital: Tokya
- Currency: Japan Yen
India, South Korea agree to more investments, fight protectionism:
India and Korea decided to stimulate investments to push infrastructure development and bilateral trade as they sought to ward off threats of rising protectionism.
The two countries also signed agreements to establish $9 billion in concessional credit and $1 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding for infrastructure development projects in India.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley co-chaired the fifth India-Korea Financial Dialogue in Seoul with South Korea Deputy Prime Minister & Finance Minister Kim Dong-Yeon and reviewed the international economic situation, and economic ties.
SOUTH KOREA
-
- Currency: South Korean won
- Capital: Seoul
- President: Moon Jae-in
Dr Neeru Chadha bags top United Nations post:
Dr Neeru Chadha has become the first Indian woman to be elected as a judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS).
Dr Chadha is the second Indian woman to occupy a top position at the United Nations after Lakshmi Pandit who served as the President of the United Nations General Assembly.
Banking & Business
Emkay and DBS ink pact for equity research distribution:
Emkay Global Financial Services has entered into exclusive pact with DBS Bank arm DBS Vickers Securities (Singapore) for co-branding and distribution of equity research to the latter’s global clients.
DBS Bank
- Headquarters: Singapore
IDBI Bank only PSB to get ‘high’ rating for code compliance:
According to the Code Compliance Rating of banks done by the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) 2017 reported that only one out of 26 public sector banks and eight out of 17 private sector banks got ‘high’ rating for their adherence to code compliance.
IDBI Bank was the only public sector bank that got ‘high (H)’ (85 and above score out of 100) rating in two successive surveys.
The eight private sector banks that got ‘high’ rating are: Axis Bank, DCB Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank and YES Bank.
The three foreign banks: Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank that were surveyed got ‘high’ ranking.
-
- IDBI Headquarters & CEO: Mumbai & Mahesh Kumar Jain
- IDBI Bank Tagline: Banking for all , Aao Sochein Bada
IDBI bank to establish exclusive vertical for NPA recovery:
IDBI Bank has announced formation of a separate vertical having around 100 dedicated staff to recover their mounting non-performing assets (NPAs), which now stand at around Rs 45,500 crores.
Also, the bank management has formed a ‘Credit Monitoring Group’ to find out potential NPAs based on early warning signals.
Yes Bank partners with TerraPay for faster international remittance:
Yes Bank has partnered with mobile payments switch TerraPay to enable real time money transfer to bank accounts in India.
TerraPay has partnered with Yes Bank in a Rupee Drawing Arrangement which enables TerraPay network partners to make instant cross-border money transfer to bank accounts in India.
YES Bank
- Headquarter: Mumbai
- CEO: Rana Kapoor
- Tagline: Experience our Expertise
RBI imposes curbs on Central Bank:
The Reserve Bank of India has put state-run lender, Central Bank of India, under prompt corrective action (PCA) due to a sharp increase in bad loans. The net NPA ratio of the lender was 10.2% as on March end, which breached the second risk threshold of 9%.
Central Bank of India
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Tagline: Build A Better Life Around Us
- MD & CEO: Shri. Rajeev Rishi
CCI slaps Rs 87-cr fine on Hyundai for unfair biz ways:
The Competition Commission imposed a Rs 87-crore penalty on Hyundai Motor India for unfair business ways with respect to discounts for passenger cars.
Customers to get Rs 5,000 if SIM card fails:
Telecom regulator TRAI recommended that international roaming SIM card and global calling card providers should pay Rs 5,000 as compensation to consumers who face service failure during an overseas travel.
The compensation of Rs 5,000 has been suggested by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) both for pre-paid and post-paid subscribers.
WPI inflation slows to 2.17%:
Wholesale inflation slowed sharply in May to 2.17% from 3.85% in April, as food prices eased — an indication that farm incomes continue to be depressed.
State oil firms sign pact to build $40 billion refinery:
State-owned oil firms IOC, BPCL and HPCL signed an agreement to jointly set up the world’s largest refinery and petrochemical complex in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra at a cost of $40 billion.
Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) will be the lead partner with 50% stake while Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd.(HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (BPCL) will take 25% stake each.
SEBI issues norms on margin trading facility:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a comprehensive framework on Margin Trading Facility (MTF) including disclosure norms and eligibility requirements for brokers to provide it to clients.
The facility is executed with borrowed funds or securities that enable investors to take exposure in the market over and above their resources.
The markets regulator said in a circular that only corporate brokers with net worth of at least Rs. 3 crore are eligible for providing MTF to their clients. The brokers would have to submit to the exchange a half-yearly certificate from an auditor confirming the net worth.
SEBI
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Chairman: Ajay Tyagi
Remittances to India increases 68.6% in a decade, US biggest contributor:
Indians working overseas sent home $62.74 billion last year, an increase of 68.6 per cent in the last decade, according to a UN agency.
India received the most overseas remittances last year, a report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).The money sent by Indians overseas amounted to 3.3 per cent of India’s gross domestic product
The US was the country from which most remittances – $3.6 billion
Lending kart targets to lend 1,500 cr. to SMEs:
FinTech start-up Lending kart Finance, a low-cost digital platform that lends to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), has targeted to increase disbursements threefold in the current fiscal year.
Science & Technology
China launches space telescope to observe black holes:
China launched its first ever space telescope to observe black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts.
The 2.5-tonne Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT) was launched via a Long March-4B rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Gobi Desert.
China
- Currency: Renminbi
- Capital: Beijing
- Prime minister: Li Keqiang
- President: Xi Jinping
Appointments & Resigns
Gaitri Issar Kumar appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Belgium:
Ms. Gaitri Issar Kumar has been appointed as the Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Belgium. She will also be accredited as Ambassador of India to the European Union.
- Belgium Currency & Capital: Euro & Brussels
- Belgium Prime Minister: Charles Michel
Reenat Sandhu appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Italy:
Ms. Reenat Sandhu has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Italy. She is expected to take up the assignment shortly.
- Italy Currency & Capital : Euro & Rome
- Italy Prime Minister: Paolo Gentiloni
Ajit Vinayak Gupte appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Denmark:
Shri Ajit Vinayak Gupte has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Denmark. He is presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.
- Denmark Currency & Capital: Danish Krone & Copenhagen
- Denmark Prime Minister: Lars Lokke Rasmussen
Balakiran appointed as MD of Kannur International Airport:
The Kerala government appointed IAS officer Balakiran as Managing Director of Kannur International Airport Ltd. Balakiran, who is presently Tourism director, will continue in that post.
Kajal Singh appointed as Executive Vice President of GSTN:
Senior bureaucrat Kajal Singh was appointed as Executive Vice President (Services) in Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) with period of 3 years.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron quits:
Tim Farron, the leader of Britain’s pro-European Union Liberal Democrat Party, resigned after the party failed to significantly increase its support in last week’s election.
Uber director David Bonderman resigns:
Uber Technologies Inc director David Bonderman that he has resigned from the company’s board following a remark he made during an Uber staff meeting that was widely seen as offensive to women.
Czech PM resigns as party leader:
Czech Prime Minister Boshuslav Sobotka resigned as chairman of his leftist Social Democrats amid falling popularity for the party ahead of parliamentary elections.
- Czech Republic Currency & Capital: Czech Koruna & Prague
AWARDS
NASA Honors Comet Science Pioneer “Michael A’Hearn”:
NASA has posthumously awarded the Exceptional Public Service Medal to Michael A ‘Hearn, one of the world’s leading comet scientists. A’Hearn died on May 29 at his home in University Park, Maryland at the age of 76.
- NASA Headquarters: Washington D.C
- Acting administrator: Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr
SPORTS
Kumar Sangakkara scores his 100th career hundred:
Kumar Sangakkara reaches an impressive milestone as he brings up his 100th century across First class and List A cricket across all format.
He scored 121 in the 24-run victory over Yorkshire and record his 39th limited-overs hundred to go with 61 first-class centuries.
Current Affairs Quiz – June 15, 2017
