Daily Current Affairs 19th June, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 19 June 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

PM Narendra Modi launches ‘Customized Crash Course programme for Covid 19 Frontline workers’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the six customized Crash Course programme for COVID-19 frontline workers through video conferencing under the Skill India scheme.

• Under the Customized Crash Course programme, the government will start 111 training centres spread over 26 states.
• The programme aims to skill and upskill over one lakh COVID warriors across the country. The training will be imparted to COVID warriors in six customised job roles namely Home Care Support, Basic Care Support, Advanced Care Support, Emergency Care Support, Sample Collection Support, and Medical Equipment Support.

Govt extends validity of Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum from 31st March to 31st Dec
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has extended the validity of Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum from 31st March to 31st December this year.

• This would facilitate the holders of Entrepreneurs Memorandum Part-II and Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum to avail benefits of the provisions under various existing schemes and incentives including Priority Sector Lending benefits of MSME.
• The amendment has been carried out considering the hardships faced by MSMEs during the prevailing COVID-19 situation and the representations received from the various MSME associations and stakeholders.

Rajasthan Govt Will Set Vedic Education And Sanskar Board
The Rajasthan government will soon set up a Vedic Education and Sanskar Board to revive the knowledge of Sanskrit scriptures and vedas, officials said. The board is likely to be formed in the next four to five months.

• A committee, formed to define aims, objectives and functioning of the board, has submitted its report to the state government, Minister of State (MoS) for Sanskrit Education Subhash Garg said, adding modules will be presented before the board based on the report.

INS Trikand, mission deployed for Anti-Piracy Operations participating in maiden IN – EUNAVFOR Joint Naval Exercise in Gulf of Aden
Indian Naval Ship Trikand, a mission deployed for Anti-Piracy Operations, is participating in the maiden IN – EUNAVFOR Joint Naval Exercise in the Gulf of Aden.

• A total of five warships from four navies are participating in the two day exercise. Other warships include Italian Navy Ship ITS Carabiniere, Spanish Navy Ship ESPS Navarra, and two French Navy Ships FS Tonnerre and FS Surcouf.
• The two-day exercise will see high tempo-naval operations at sea, including advanced air defence and anti-submarine exercises, cross deck helicopter operations, tactical manoeuvres, boarding operations, underway replenishment, Search and Rescue

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Indians in 51st position in assets held in Swiss banks last year
Annual data from Switzerland’s central bank showed that funds parked by Indian individuals and firms in banks of that country rose to more than Rs 20,700 crore (2.55 billion Swiss francs) in 2020.

• Cumulative deposits from Indian customers in Swiss banks rose to Rs 6,625 crore at the end of 2019. It marked a reversal of a two-year decline.However, the data showed that despite the excitement and enthusiasm of Indians about money being stashed in Switzerland, India stood at 51st position.
• The first and second position were occupied by the UK and the US. The Brits deposited 377 billion and the Americans 152 billion Swiss francs.
• Interestingly, the two other countries in the sub-continent, Bangladesh and Pakistan witnessed a lot of noise around black money in Switzerland.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addresses ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh participated in the 8th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) via video conferencing.

• During the virtual address at the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), Singh asserted that maritime security challenges are another area of concern to India and it hopes that the Code of Conduct negotiations regarding the South China Sea will lead to outcomes that are in keeping with international law.
• The ADMM-Plus is a platform comprising 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its eight dialogue partners -India, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States – to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability and development in the region.

UK And Australia Agreed On Historic Free Trade Agreement
The Prime Minister of Britain Boris Johnson and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison have mutually agreed on a historic Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

• It will make it cheaper for the United Kingdom to sell its cars and scotch whisky Down Under, and remove barriers for business.
• The Free Trade Agreement with Australia has also been dubbed as a gateway into the fast-growing Indo-Pacific region, which also includes India.

India, Bhutan Sign MoU for Cooperation on Climate Change, Waste Management
India and Bhutan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the environment sector, Union Environment Prakash Javadekar said.

• The MoU will be the platform to further enhance our partnership and support, exchange best practices in areas of #AirPollution, Waste Management, Chemical Management, #ClimateChange, etc..

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI to grant in-principle approval to Centrum Financial Services Ltd to set up Small Finance Bank
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to grant in-principle approval to Centrum Financial Services Limited to set up a Small Finance Bank.

• This in-principle approval has been accorded in specific pursuance to the expression of centrum financial services limited’s offer dated February 1, 2021.

RBI releases Consultative Document on Regulation of Microfinance
Reserve Bank of India has released a Consultative Document on Regulation of Microfinance. It has been released for harmonising the regulatory frameworks for various regulated lenders in the microfinance space.

• Key proposals of the documents are, common definition of microfinance loans for all regulated entities, Capping the outflow on account of repayment of loan obligations of a household to a percentage of the household income.
• It also recommends a Board approved policy for household income assessment. It also asked for introduction of a standard simplified fact sheet on pricing of microfinance loans for better transparency and display of minimum, maximum and average interest rates charged on microfinance loans on the websites of regulated entities.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India’s agriculture exports registers increase of 17.34% in 2020-21
India has registered tremendous growth in agriculture exports during the last financial year.

• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has said, exports of agriculture and allied products jumped to 41.25 billion US dollars and registered an increase of 17.34 per cent during the fiscal year 2020-21.
• Organic exports registered a whopping growth of nearly 51 per cent during the same fiscal year.
• Largest markets for country’s agricultural products are the USA, China, Bangladesh, UAE, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Nepal, Iran and Malaysia.Highest growth in export has been recorded for Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Country’s foreign exchange reserve rose by US 103 Billion in last one year
Reserve Bank of India has said that, Foreign exchange reserves of country reached an all-time high of US$ 605.0 billion on June 4, 2021. In last one year, country’s foreign exchange reserve rose by US$ 103 Billion.

• RBI says, India is the 5th largest reserve holding country in the world, the 12th largest foreign holder of US treasury securities and the 10th largest in terms of gold reserves. 

India’s overall exports including merchandise and services estimated to be USD 98.29 billion in April-May this year
India’s overall exports including merchandise and services are estimated to be USD 98.29 billion in April-May of this year. The overall exports exhibited a positive growth of nearly 57 per cent in the corresponding period of last year.

• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has said that overall imports are estimated to be USD 104.14 billion in April-May 2021. It said, overall imports exhibited a growth of 77.82 per cent in the corresponding period of last year.
• The commodities which have recorded positive growth in exports are cereals, petroleum products, handicrafts items, gems and jewellery, leather products, meat, dairy and poultry products among others.

SPORTS

19-year-old Yuka Saso wins U.S. Women’s Open in a playoff 
Yuka Saso bounced back from two early double bogeys and bested Japan’s Nasa Hataoka in the third hole of a sudden death playoff to win the 76th U.S. Women’s Open golf championship at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

• The 19-year-old Saso became the first Filipino player to win a golf major and announced herself as a new force in the game with her first major title.
• Saso pumped her first and smiled after nailing a 10-foot birdie putt for the win after overcoming the early adversity on a picture-perfect day at the Lake Course.

Neeraj Chopra throws 83.18m to clinch gold in Lisbon 
Indian javelin ace Neeraj Chopra produced a stunning return to the international circuit by striking gold at the Meeting Cidade de Lisboa in Lisbon.

• Neeraj Chopra threw 83.18m in his sixth and final throw to clinch the top prize in a field of five.

APPOINTMENTS

Sports Brand Puma India Extends Partnership With Yuvraj Singh
Global sports brand PUMA has extended its decade long partnership with former Indian Cricketer Yuvraj Singh by signing him as the face of PUMA Motorsport in India. 

• In his new avatar, Singh will showcase his passion for fast cars and sports-inspired fashion.

Private person Aashish Chandorkar appointed director at India’s WTO mission
Ahead of the WTO’s ministerial conference later this year, the government has appointed a private person Aashish Chandorkar as ‘Counsellor’ in India’s Permanent Mission in the World Trade Organisation for three years.

• For the first time, a private person has been appointed at the Mission. Mr. Chandorkar is director of Bengaluru-based policy think tank Smahi Foundation of Policy and Research.

AWARDS

Environmental Organisation ‘Familial Forestry’ Wins Prestigious UN Award
Rajasthan-based climate activist Shyam Sundar Jyani’s environment conservation concept, Familial Forestry has won this year’s prestigious United Nations’ Land for Life Award. 

• The UNCCD praised Familial Forestry of Rajasthan as “a unique concept of Shyam Sunder Jyanithat relates a tree with a family, making it a green family member”.
• Jyani was chosen by the UNCCD for the Land For Life Award 2021 among 12 shortlisted candidates across the globe. Two candidates had been shortlisted from India – the other being Jaggi Vasudev, popularly known as Sadguru, who has been campaigning for environmental cause for several years.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Home Ministry operationalises National Helpline for preventing financial loss due to cyber fraud
Home Ministry has operationalised the national Helpline 155260 and Reporting Platform for preventing financial loss due to cyber fraud.

• The National Helpline and Reporting Platform provides a mechanism for persons cheated in cyber frauds to report such cases to prevent loss of their hard earned money.
• The Helpline was soft launched on first of April this year. The Helpline and its Reporting Platform has been made operational by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, I4C under the Ministry of Home Affairs, with active support and cooperation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), all major banks, Payment Banks, Wallets and Online Merchants.

Punjab Sports and Youth Services Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi launches a special Mobile App “Khedo Punjab
Punjab Sports and Youth Services Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi launched a special Mobile App “Khedo Punjab” for putting the Sports Department and all the Sports persons of State of Punjab on Digital platform.

• this is the first time in the history of the Sports Department that the department has launched a mobile app.
• With the launch of Mobile App, the current sports persons and the budding players will be in a position to register online and can choose any game of their interest besides identifying their International, National and State goals, which will finally help in building competitive enthusiasm.

Odisha government launches e-learning methods for students
After launching YouTube classes for students of Class IX and X, the Odisa government launched e-Pathsala and e-Mulyankan facilities keeping in mind disruption of classes during the ongoing pandemic. These online platforms will benefit students, teachers and district education officers (DEOs).

• The e-Pathsala is an online learning platform that has repositories of e-contents in the form of documents, audios and videos. The e-contents will support different areas of online learning like self-learning, online classes, assignments, assessments and evaluation of the learners’ progress.
• The e-Mulyankan platform is designed to act as a digital bank of practice tests and model question so that the students can practice for examinations. The teachers can conduct tests, mock examinations and final examinations through the e-Mulyankan platform.

OBITUARIES

Legendary India Sprinter Milkha Singh Passes Away
Legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh died of complications due to coronavirus disease (Covid-19), at the age of 91, after a month-long battle with Covid-19 in Chandigarh.

• A former army man, Milkha Singh won several laurels for the country in track and field events across the globe. He won four gold medals for India in the Asian Games, winning the 200 metre and 400 metre races in the 1958 Tokyo Asiad.
• He followed it up with gold medals in the 400 metre and 4×400 metre relay races in the 1962 Jakarta Asiad.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Reading Day
National Reading Day 2021 would be celebrated across the country on June 19, 2021 and the entire month till July 18 will be observed as Reading Month.

• The day is celebrated in honour of father of India’s Library Movement, the late P.N. Panicker.
• On June 19, 2017, Prime Minister launched the 22nd National Reading Month Celebrations and called for unity to spread the message of ‘Read and Grow’ among all the citizens of the country by 2022.

International Day For The Elimination Of Sexual Violence In Conflict
International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is marked on, June 19. 

• The day aims to raise awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence, honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world and pay tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives to and lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes.

World Crocodile Day
World Crocodile Day is celebrated on 17th June. 

• The day is a global awareness campaign to highlight the plight of endangered crocodiles and alligators around the world.

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