Latest Current Affairs – June 22 & 23 2018
1. PM Modi inaugurates MP’s ₹3866 cr Mohanpura irrigation project
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Mohanpura irrigation project in Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh district. The ₹3,866 crore project includes a dam and a canal system which will provide drinking water to over 400 villages. “It is a great service to women and sisters who face lots of difficulties in fetching water from long distances,” said PM Modi.
2. Govt appoints Arijit Basu as new Managing Director of SBI
The government has appointed Arijit Basu as Managing Director of India’s largest lender State Bank of India. He will fill the spot left vacant following the elevation of Rajnish Kumar as the Chairman. Basu, who has a bachelor’s in Economics and master’s in History, started his career with the bank almost 35 years ago as a probationary officer.
3. Maharashtra makes plastic waste use compulsory to lay roads
The Maharashtra government has made it compulsory for the Public Works Department to use plastic waste for construction and repair of asphalt roads. The step has been taken to sustainably use the increasing amount of plastic waste collected by the state civic bodies. Mumbai civic body has alone collected 1.42 lakh kg of plastic waste since March.
4. India to open Iran’s Chabahar port by 2019 amid US sanctions
India has said it plans to make the Chabahar port operational by 2019, even as the US reimposed sanctions on Iran after withdrawing itself from the nuclear deal. Recently, India said it won’t abide by US sanctions and will only follow UN sanctions. The port is aimed at opening a trade route to Afghanistan and central Asia by bypassing Pakistan.
5. President Kovind concludes successful tour to 3 nations
President Ram Nath Kovind concludes his successful tour to Greece, Suriname and Cuba. On the final leg of his tour, the President held delegation-level talks with his Cuban counterpart Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel. Cuba reiterate support for India’s candidature for a permanent seat in UN Security Council.
India and Cuba have signed two MoUs in the field of biotechnology, traditional medicine and homoeopathy.
6. U.S. suspends military exercises with South Korea
The United States and South Korea have agreed to indefinitely suspend two exchange program training exercises, in the aftermath of the summit earlier this month between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea had long sought an end to the war games. The decision to halt military exercises with South Korea baffled allies, military officials and lawmakers. The drills help keep U.S. forces at a state of readiness in one of the world’s most tense flashpoints.
7. Uttarakhand High Court has banned water sports in the state
The Uttarakhand high court has banned paragliding, and white water rafting and other water sports until the government frames a policy to regulate them.
It also expressed concern over environmental damages, remarking that the state is not maintaining the sanctity of river Ganga.
8. India and Tajikistan agree to enhance mutual cooperation for sustainable water development
India and Tajikistan have reaffirmed their commitment to promote bilateral relations and agreed to enhance economic cooperation, particularly in sustainable water development.
Tajikistan President – Emomali Rahmon
Tajikistan currency – Somoni
Tajikistan capital – Dushanbe
9. World Music Day 2018 observed on 21st June
Music lovers all across the globe celebrate World Music Day on June 21 every year. The day is also known as Fete de la Musique after a music festival that began in France in 1982.
To mark the day, around 150 artists from over 16 countries, including France, USA, Nepal, Spain, Italy, Thailand and India, will be performing at multiple venues across the city of Udaipur this year.
10. Three MoUs signed and 6 at an advanced stage under Adopt a Heritage Scheme
Under “Adopt a Heritage Scheme”, three MoUs have already been signed and six are at an advanced stage and 31 more Adarsh Monuments are enlisted for coverage under the scheme.
The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India.
The four MoUs include:
1. Mount Stok Kangri Trek Route, Ladakh
2. Gangotri Temple Area & Trail to Gaumukh, Uttarakhand
3. Red Fort, Delhi
4. Gandikota Fort, Andhra Pradesh
11. India launches its first national healthcare facility registry
The Union ministry of health and family welfare launched the National Health Resource Repository (NHRR), the first ever registry in the country registry of authentic, standardised and updated geo-spatial data of all public and private healthcare.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the project technology partner for providing data security. It was launched by Union Health Minister J P Nadda.
12. Vishwas Mandalik in Nasik, Yoga Institute in Mumbai receives PM award
For outstanding contribution for promotion and development of yoga, Vishwas Mandalik from Nasik and the Yoga Institute in Mumbai have been selected as the recipients of the prime minister’s award. The award for 2017 was won by Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune.
13. Mongolia launches construction of its first oil refinery with $1 billion Indian aid
Mongolia launched construction of its first oil refinery, a long-awaited project that is funded by India and designed to end the country’s dependence on Russian fuel. The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Mongolian Prime Minister Khurelsukh Ukhnaa and Indian Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh.
The refinery, in southern Dornogovi province will be capable of processing 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil per year. Mongolia’s new refinery, planned for completion in late 2022, will meet all of the nation’s demand for gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
14. Indian Army Contingent part of UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan awarded
The Indian Army said that the 7 Garhwal Rifles Infantry Battalion Group, which is part of the UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan, was awarded the United Nations Medal for “selfless service”.
The ceremony was attended by a number of military and civil dignitaries, including Brig Gen Mohammed Al Masoom, Commander United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and a host of senior commanders of various nationalities
15. Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays foundation stone of Vanijya Bhawan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday laid the foundation stone of Vanijya Bhawan at Akbar Road, New Delhi. The Bhawan, which is likely to be ready by December 2019, will be a completely networked and paperless office equipped with smart access control. The Bhawan will comprise the Minister’s room, 85 cabins for senior officers, 19 meeting rooms with seating capacities ranging from 10 to 100, library and more than 1,000 workstations.
16. India, US to hold inaugural 2+2 Dialogue in July 2018 in Washington
India and the US will hold the inaugural 2+2 Dialogue on July 6 in Washington, DC. The two sides are expected to share perspectives on strengthening their strategic and security ties and exchange views on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Swaraj and Sitharaman will take part in the first meeting of the ‘2+2 Dialogue’ with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Secretary of Defence James N Mattis on July 6. This new dialogue format was agreed upon between the two sides during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington in June 2017.
17. Government bans two affiliates of al Qaeda and IS under UAPA
The Centre has banned new offshoots of terror organisations al-Qaida and ISIS under the stringent anti-terror law — Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Both al-Qaida in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K), an Afghanistan-based affiliate of ISIS, have been declared unlawful by the Union home ministry as they were found to be radicalising Indian youths for ‘global jihad’ and encouraging terror acts on Indian interests.
- The ISIS-K is also known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP)/ISIS Wilayat Khorasan.
- The AQIS, an affiliate of al-Qaida, is a terrorist organisation, which has committed acts of terrorism in the neighbouring countries and has been promoting and encouraging terror acts on Indian interests in the Indian Sub-continent.
18. World’s hungry population on rise again due to conflict, climate change: UN report
The number of hungry people in the world has risen for the first time in more than a decade, according to a United Nations report. There are now approximately 38 million more undernourished people in the world, rising from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016.
According to the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2018 report, conflict is now one of the main drivers of food insecurity in 18 countries.
