Daily Current Affairs 14th June, 2019

Daily Current Affairs 14 June 2019 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Tripura, Mizoram launch ambitious afforestation plan

The Tripura and Mizoram governments have undertaken an ambitious plan for afforestation in the two Northeastern states.

• Tripura Forest and Tribal Welfare Minister Mevar Kumar Jamatia told reporters here that the state government has decided to plant at least 10 lakh trees across the state this year.

Bihar launches pension scheme for poor

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched the Mukhyamantri Vriddha Pension Yojna for poor people above 60 years of age in the state.

• Poor people above 60 years of age will get Rs 400 per month and those above 80 years will get Rs 500 per month. The scheme, which is effective from April 1, 2019, will not cover retired government employees.
• Nitish Kumar said the state government had created a special fund of Rs 18,000 crore for the scheme which “will give the elderly poor respect and dignity”.

India to launch first solar mission in 2020

India is to launch Aditya-L1, its first mission to study the sun, in 2020, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K. Sivan informed.

• The aim of the mission is to keep a permanent eye on the sun without any disturbance. Aditya-L1 is meant to observe the solar corona.
• Aditya-L1 mission is expected to be inserted in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) – which is 1.5 million km from the earth – so that there is a major advantage of continuously viewing the sun without any occultation/eclipses, Sivan added.

Microsoft launches AI labs with 10 colleges in India

Software giant Microsoft launched Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled digital labs in collaboration with 10 higher educational institutions in India.

• The programme, ‘Intelligent Cloud Hub’, covers institutes including BITS Pilani, SRM Institute of Science and Technology and Trident Academy of Technology among others.
• As part of the three-year programme, Microsoft would support the selected institutions with best-in-class infrastructure, curriculum and content, access to Cloud, AI services as well as developer support.

New mango variety named after Amit Shah

Celebrated mango grower, Haji Kalimullah, popularly known as ‘Mango Man’, has named a new variety of mango after Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

• Kalimullah said that he has been impressed by the personality of Shah “who possess the ability to weave the social fabric and bring people on to one platform”.
• The new mango variety that is being named after Shah is both “good in weight and taste” and will be called “Shah” mango. The Shah mango is ready and is likely to ripen in the coming days when it will enter the market.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

World’s highest operating weather stations installed on Everest

The National Geographic Society has announced the successful installation of the world’s highest operating weather stations on Mount Everest to provide researchers, climbers, and the public with near real-time information about mountain conditions.

• The successful installation aims to break new ground in the monitoring and understanding of climate change as the stations will help continuously monitor the upper reaches of the atmosphere, which is critical to tracking and predicting weather patterns around the globe

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Global FDI flow fell 13% in 2018: UN Report

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows declined by 13 per cent in 2018 to $1.3 trillion from $1.5 trillion in 2017, the UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2019 said.

• According to the report, this is the the third consecutive annual decline in global FDI flow.

FDI in India grew by 6% to $42bn in 2019: UNCTAD

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India grew by 6 per cent to $42 billion last year, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

• “Investment was strong in manufacturing, communication and financial services — the top three industry recipients,” said the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2019 released recently.

ZestMoney offers first-of-its-kind EMI insurance

India’s largest and fastest growing consumer lending technology company, ZestMoney, announced a partnership with Digit Insurance to offer EMI insurance to the company’s five million customers.

• The partnership integrates the digital capability of ZestMoney to provide EMI for everyone and insurance by Digit to relieve its customers of debt in case of unforeseen circumstances.
• This policy will cover EMI cost in the event of hospitalization, death or permanent disability. The insurance product is specifically designed for ZestMoney’s customers which can be availed while applying for a loan on the digital platform.

Dell has emerged as the most trusted brand in India in 2019: TRA

According to a report released by brand analytics firm TRA Research, “Dell” has emerged as the most trusted brand in India in 2019. With 31% Brand Trust Index (BTI) difference from Dell, auto brand Jeep makes a dramatic entry in the second spot. LIC and Amazon are ranked on the third and fourth spots and Apple iPhone emerged as India’s fifth most trusted brand.

SPORTS

Badminton star Lee Chong Wei announces his retirement

Cancer-hit Malaysian badminton star Lee Chong Wei announced his retirement. He spent a total of 348 weeks as world number one but lost six world and Olympic finals in his 19 years career.

Kohli is the sole Indian in the list of top-paid athletes

Virat Kohli, ranked 100th, remains the sole Indian in the Forbes list of world’s highest-paid athletes with estimated annual earnings of $25 million. The list is headed by Barcelona and Argentina football superstar Lionel Messi.

APPOINTMENTS

Rajnath Singh named deputy leader in Lok Sabha

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) constituted the parliamentary party executive committee appointing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as the deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.

• The party has appointed Union Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot as leader and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal as his deputy in the Rajya Sabha.

I V Subba Rao to continue as secretary to vice president

I V Subba Rao will continue as secretary to Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

• His tenure will be co-terminus with the tenure of the vice president, the ministry said.

Reckitt names Pepsico executive Laxman Narasimhan CEO

British consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser named PepsiCo executive Laxman Narasimhan to succeed Rakesh Kapoor as chief executive officer.

• Narasimhan, PepsiCo’s global chief commercial officer, will join Reckitt as CEO-designate and be appointed to the board on July 16.

OBITUARIES

Former MP and journalist Rajnath Singh Surya passes away

Former BJP Rajya Sabha MP and senior journalist Rajnath Singh ‘Surya’ passed away. He was suffering from age-related issues. He was 82.

• His son Sunil Singh said, “My father’s body will be donated to King George Medical University in Lucknow.”

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