Daily Current Affairs 14th June, 2018

Daily Current Affairs 14 June 2018 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

India ranks 177 in Environmental Performance Index 2018

India has been ranked at 177 out of 180 countries in the 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI).

• India has become the fourth worst country in the world with an air quality score of 5.75 out of 100. India was placed at 141 out of 180 in 2016.
• India ranked only better in environmental performance than the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh and Burundi.
• The top five countries in terms of green rankings are Switzerland, France, Denmark, Malta and Sweden.

PM Modi inaugurates Integrated Command and Control Centre

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the Integrated Command and Control Centre set up at Naya Raipur in Chhattisgarh during his day-long visit to the state.

• The centre will control and monitor online water and power supply, sanitation, traffic movement, integrated building management, city connectivity and Internet infrastructure, under one roof. The monitoring of Naya Raipur city will also be carried out from the facility.
• The ICCC, Naya Raipur becomes the 10th Smart City Centre to be operational in the country. Under the ambitious Smart City Mission, ICCC in 9 cities are already operational including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Pune, Nagpur, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, Bhopal and Kakinada.
• The prime minister also dedicated to the nation the modernized and expanded Bhilai Steel Plant, laid the foundation stone of IIT, Bhilai and launched phase -2 of Bharat Net Project.
• He also inaugurated the air services between Jagdalpur and Raipur under UDAAN scheme through video link at programme organized in Bhilai.

President Ram Nath Kovind to launch Solar Charkha Mission on 27th June

President Ram Nath Kovind will launch the flagship programme of the MSME Ministry- Solar Charkha Mission– on 27 June 2018 in New Delhi.

• The Mission will cover 50 clusters and every cluster will employ 400 to 2000 artisans.
• The mission aims to disburse subsidy of Rs 550 crore to the artisans.
• According to MoS (Independent Charge) Ministry of Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Giriraj Singh, 15 new state-of-the-art technology centres are being set up all over the country including the northeast, of which 10 centres will become operational by March 2019.
• Each centre is being built at a cost of around Rs 150 crore and will provide technological support to small industries.

NDMA Conducts Mock Exercise in Uttar Pradesh on Flood Preparedness 

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted a mock exercise on flood preparedness in Uttar Pradesh in a move to improve flood preparedness ahead of the monsoon season.

• The exercise was held in collaboration with State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).
• The simulation exercise was conducted simultaneously in 23 flood-prone districts of the State to assess the preparedness of the State’s machinery for the recurring annual floods.
• The exercise also helped improve the administration’s capacity in mobilising resources and reaching out to the affected communities swiftly in case of an actual flood situation.

Conference on Implementation of National Pension System (NPS) Held in New Delhi 

A Conference on Implementation of National Pension System (NPS) by the Central Autonomous Bodies (CABs) was organized by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in New Delhi.

• The prime objective of the conference was to provide a forum to all the Central Autonomous Bodies (CABs) to discuss the progress in the implementation of NPS with respect to compliance of timelines in various NPS related activities could be brought to the fore and a way forward could be provided.

Nadda Inaugurates 10th ‘Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis’ Meet in Delhi

Union Health Minister JP Nadda inaugurated the 10th meeting of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GAELF) in New Delhi.

• The minister launched Accelerated Plan for Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination (APELF) 2018 for India on the occasion.
• The GAELF theme for this year is ‘Celebrating progress towards elimination: Voices from the field on overcoming programme challenges’.
• Eleven countries — Cambodia, Cook Islands, Egypt, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Niue, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Vanuatu — were awarded at the meeting for eliminating LF as a public health concern.
• Lymphatic Filariasis  (LF) or commonly known as Elephantiasis is one of the oldest and most debilitating neglected disease, which is currently endemic in 73 countries of the world, including India.

Nitin Gadkari Releases Nabard Publication on Water Productivity Mapping of Major Indian Crops 

Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shipping, Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari released a book titled ‘Water productivity mapping of major Indian crops’ published by NABARD.

• The book is based on study of 10 important crops by a team under the leadership of leading agricultural economist Dr. Ashok Gulati.
• The 10 important crops include rice, wheat, maize, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton and potato etc.
• It suggests ways to realign cropping pattern keeping in view water scarcity of irrigation, ration irrigation supplies in canal irrigation system, improve micro-irrigation and invest in water harvesting and artificial recharge and encourage participatory irrigation management through water user association and farmer’s producer organisation.

National Tribal Museum proposed to be set up at Delhi-Shri Jual Oram 

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has proposed to set up a National Tribal Museum along with a National Level Tribal Research Institute at Delhi.

• The Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Jual Oram said that the Museum will showcase the rich tribal culture and heritage using state-of-the-art technologies.
• MoTA is setting up six Tribal Freedom Fighters Memorials including two of national importance ie. Narmada (Gujarat) and Birsa Munda Central Jail (Ranchi).

20 States sign MoU for implementing Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission

The State Health Ministers of 20 States have exchanged the Memorandum of Understanding with Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare in New Delhi, marking their commitment towards the launch of the Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM).

• The minister informed that it is likely that the number of states signing the MoU reaches 25 by the end of this month.

Haryana raises age limit for entry in govt service

The Haryana government has raised the upper age limit of entry into government service from 40 to 42 years.

• All the departments have been conveyed to incorporate the provisions relating to raising the upper age limit for entry into the government service in their service rules, at their own level.

Cashless Ticketing through ‘Utsonmobile’ app developed by CRIS 

Moving towards becoming cashless and digital economy, the Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) has developed a mobile based application named ‘Utsonmobile’ for faster and more techno-advanced transactions in Indian Railways.

• The App enables booking and cancellation of unreserved tickets, issue and renewal of season and platform tickets, check and load R-wallet balance and helps maintain user profile management and booking history.
• It is available for both Android and Windows smart phone and can be downloaded from Google Play Store or Windows store free of cost.

106th Indian Science Congress to Be Held in LPU

The 106th edition of the “Indian Science Congress” will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Lovely Professional University from January 3 to 7, 2019.

• The theme for the five-day science congress is ‘Future India: Science & Technology’.
• About 15,000 delegates, including 300 top scientists and Nobel Laureates from across world are expected to attend the world’s biggest science congress.

BANKING NEWS

RBI Releases Draft Guidelines To Modify Loan System For Large Borrowers

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has ruled out draft guidelines on Loan System for Delivery of Bank Credit to improve credit discipline among larger borrowers enjoying working capital facility from the banking system.

• The draft stipulates a minimum level of ‘loan component’ of 40 percent for borrowers having aggregate fund based working capital limit of Rs 150 crore and above from the banking system effective from October 1, 2018.
• The 40 per cent loan component will be revised to 60 per cent, with effect from April 1, 2019.
• The undrawn portion of cash credit/ overdraft limits sanctioned to large borrowers, irrespective of whether unconditionally cancellable or not, shall attract a credit conversion factor of 20% from April 1, 2019.

DEFENCE NEWS

US Govt. Approves Sale of Six Apache Attack Choppers to India

The Trump administration has approved a deal to sell six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to India for USD 930 million. The move will strengthen India’s ability to defend its homeland and deter regional threats.

• In addition to the attack helicopters, the contract also includes fire control radars; Hellfire Longbow missiles; stinger Block I-92H missiles; night vision sensors and inertial navigation systems.
• The AH-64E will provide an increase in India’s defensive capability to counter ground-armored threats and modernise its armed forces.

APPOINTMENTS

Dr. Inder Jit Singh Assumes charge as Secretary, Ministry of Coal 

Dr. Inder Jit Singh, 1985 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer, has been appointed to the post of  Secretary, Ministry of Coal.

• Dr. Inder Jit Singh took over the charge of  Secretary which fell vacant after superannuation of Shri Susheel Kumar on April 30 2018.
• In the interim,  Secretary Mines, Shri Anil G Mukhim had been holding additional charge as Secretary, Coal.
• Dr.InderJit Singh was posted  as Secretary (Coordination) in Cabinet Secretariat prior to this appointment.

Indian-American Dhivya Suryadevara To Become CFO of General Motors

An Indian-American woman, Dhivya Suryadevara has been named the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of the US’ largest automaker, General Motors.

• Ms. Suryadevara, currently the vice president of corporate finance, will succeed Chuck Stevens, the General Motor’s present CFO, on September 1.
• She will report to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mary Barra, 56, who has been head of the automaker since 2014.
• Ms. Barra and Ms. Suryadevara are the first women in their respective positions in the auto industry, as no other major global automaker has a female CEO nor CFO.

RECOGNITION

Naval Women Mountaineers Summit Mount Deotibba

An all women Naval mountaineering team led by Lt Cdr Kokila Sajwan summited Mount Deotibba an 10 Jun 2018.

• The expedition was flagged off by Vice Admiral AK Chawla, Chief Of Personnel on 28 May 18 from New Delhi.

• Mt Deotibba is the second highest peak (6001M) in the Pir-Panjal range in Himachal Pradesh and is considered to be a difficult peak to summit.
• The team was led by Lt Cdr Kokila Sajwan and includes Lt Cdr Nanadini Dam Roy, Lt Cdr Seema Chaudhary, Lt Cdr Pooja Sharma, Lt Cdr Rekha Shree, Lt Cdr Rashu Tyagi, Lt Saino Wilson, Lt Chamm Kumari, Surg Lt Himwant Kaur, Lt Surbhi Sharma, Lt Shristi Thakur, Lt Vipasha Sharma, Lt Kritika Sharma as other team members.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Blood Donor Day: June 14

Every year, on 14 June, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day.

• The event serves to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood and to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations to ensure the quality, safety and availability of blood and blood products for patients in need.
• The theme for Blood Donation Day in 2018 is ‘Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life’.

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