Latest Current Affairs – June 01 2018
1. India is the world’s largest producer of milk
India is the world’s largest producer of milk, contributing about 19% of the world’s total milk production with over 150 million tonnes of milk production every year. India, whose milk output surpasses that of all the European Union countries combined, is followed by the US, China, Pakistan and Brazil. World Milk Day is being observed on June 1.
2. ICC induct Nepal, Scotland, Netherlands, UAE in ODI rankings
The ICC has inducted the nations of Nepal, Scotland, Netherlands and UAE in the ODI team rankings. Netherlands gained ODI status by winning the ICC World Cricket League Championship last year, while the rest of the three national sides finished as the top associate teams in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament.
3. PM Modi gives Padma Shri award to ex-Singaporean diplomat
During his visit to Singapore, PM Narendra Modi on Friday felicitated former Singaporean diplomat Tommy Koh with a Padma Shri award, India’s fourth highest civilian award. Koh has served as Singapore’s ambassador to US and UN. He is one of the 10 ASEAN members whom the government decided to felicitate this year on the silver jubilee of India-ASEAN partnership.
4. PM Modi launches BHIM, RuPay and SBI apps in Singapore
PM Narendra Modi launched BHIM, RuPay and SBI mobile payment applications in Singapore at a business event focussed on digital platforms. RuPay was linked up with Singapore’s 33-year old Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS), which will allow Singapore’s NETS users to make online purchases on e-commerce merchant website in India using RuPay’s point of sale terminals.
5. Andhra to give ₹1,000 monthly allowance to unemployed youth
Andhra Pradesh government has announced a monthly allowance of ₹1,000 each to unemployed graduate youths in the state with an upper age limit of 35. Claiming the scheme to be first of its kind, state minister Nara Lokesh said, “It will cover close to 10 lakh unemployed youth…There is no restriction on the number per family.”
6. Govt approves construction of 1.5 lakh houses for urban poor
The Centre has approved the construction of 1.5 lakh houses for urban poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, which aims to build 1.2 crore such houses till 2022. Over 56,500 houses will be built in Andhra Pradesh, 23,060 in Uttar Pradesh, 13,506 in Maharashtra, among other states. Around 47.5 lakh houses has been approved under the scheme till now.
7. Indian-American teen wins US’ Scripps National Spelling Bee
14-year-old Indian-American boy, Karthik Nemmani, has won the 91st Scripps National Spelling Bee contest held annually in the US, becoming the 14th consecutive Indian-American champion in 11 consecutive years. The eighth-grader from Texas has been awarded a $40,000 cash prize and a trophy after correctly spelling the word ‘koinonia’ in the final round.
8. US imposes steel, aluminium tariffs on EU, Canada and Mexico
The US has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union (EU). While a 25% tariff will be imposed on steel imports, a tariff of 10% will be imposed on aluminium imports. The EU, Canada and Mexico were temporarily exempted from the tariffs when they were announced by the US two months ago.
9. Foundation laid for India’s first Advanced DNA Forensic Lab in Chandigarh
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has laid the foundation stone of an advanced DNA forensic laboratory here as part efforts to reduce the backlog of cases needing advanced forensic analysis.
Built at a cost of Rs 99.76 crore from the Nirbhaya Fund, the state-of-the-art ‘Sakhi Suraksha’ lab, will come up at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory campus to assist in investigation and prosecution of crimes including those committed against women and children.
10. RIMPAC 2018: 26 countries including India to participate in biennial exercise in US
As many as 26 countries, including India, would participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercise from June 27 to August 2, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. Known as the world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC this year involves 47 surface ships, five submarines, 18 national land forces, and more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel.
Four countries — Brazil, Israel, Sri Lanka and Vietnam — are participating in RIMPAC for the first time. The theme this year is “Capable, Adaptive, Partners.”
11. India, Japan, US: Malabar Exercise 2018 to be held off coast of Guam in Philippine Sea
India, Japan and the U.S. will hold the annual Malabar trilateral naval war games off the coast of Guam in the Philippine Sea from June 6-15. The exercise comes at a time of increased friction between China and the U.S. along with the nations bordering South China Sea as Beijing militarises reclaimed islands.
Indian Navy is sending indigenous stealth frigate INS Sahyadri, anti-submarine corvette INS Kamorta, fleet tanker INS Shakti and P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft.
Japan is deploying its helicopter carrier JDS Ise along with Soryu class conventional submarines and Kawasaki P-1 aircraft maritime patrol aircraft.
The U.S. is sending its aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan along with strike complement of destroyers, support ships and nuclear attack submarines in addition to P-8A maritime patrol aircraft.
12. Former Himachal Pradesh Governor Urmila Singh passes away
Former Himachal Pradesh governor and Congress leader Urmila Singh died due to prolonged illness at a private hospital in Indore. She was 71. Belonging to a family of freedom fighters, Singh was appointed as the governor of Himachal Pradesh in 2010.
Prior to that, she had served as the chairman of the National Scheduled Tribes Commission (NCTC).
13. Yuvraj Singh Awarded ‘Most Inspiring Icon Of The Year For Social Welfare’
Indian star cricketer Yuvraj Singh awarded the ‘most inspiring icon of the year for Social Welfare’ award by the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DIFF) for his exemplary contribution in the field of social welfare. Yuvraj was diagnosed with cancer (mediastinal seminoma) shortly after the World Cup.
After successfully completing his chemotherapy cycle in the United States, Yuvraj returned to India in 2012 and made his international comeback in a Twenty20 match against New Zealand.
14. Infosys concludes acquisition of US based Wongdoody at $75 million
Infosys completed the acquisition of WongDoody Holding Company, a US-based digital creative and consumer insights agency, for a total consideration of up to $75 million. Founded in 1993, WongDoody has clients across industries like telecommunications, consumer electronics, healthcare and consumer packaged goods.
15. India, Singapore exchange eight key agreements
Talks between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Lee Hsien Loong led to the signing of 8 agreements between the two sides which covered areas as wide as military cooperation and connectivity.
Prime Minister Modi said that the strategic partnership between India and Singapore has stood the test of time in the real sense. He hailed the close defence cooperation between the two countries and welcomed the completion of the logistics agreement between the two navies.
1) Naval cooperation
2) Economic co-operation
3) Fintech
4) Cybersecurity
5) Nursing
6) Combating Narcotics smuggling & Human Trafficking
7) Personnel Management and Public Administration
8) MoU between the NITI Aayog and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) on Cooperation in the Field of Planning
16. Be an informer to Income Tax dept; earn up to Rs 5 crore
Sharing “specific information” with the income tax department about any benami transaction or property could earn you up to Rs one crore, while the same for undisclosed black money stashed abroad could fetch up to Rs 5 crore. The tax department also assured full confidentiality of the informer for all the reward schemes saying that the identity of the persons giving information will not be disclosed.
The government had earlier amended Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, by Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 to make the law stronger. With the objective of obtaining people’s participation in the Income Tax Department’s efforts to unearth black money and to reduce tax evasion, a new reward scheme titled ‘Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018’ has been issued by the Income Tax Department.
17. IRCTC joined hands with delivery service partners TRAPIGO
The IRCTC has joined hands with delivery service partners TRAPIGO and Shree Mahalakshmi Swayam Sahayata Bachat Ghat (Ratnagiri) to provide the choice of regional or local cuisines to passengers on trains. TRAPIGO, a startup by IIT-IIM and NIFT graduates, is a last mile ‘B2B’ logistics service provider for food products.
To ensure reliable delivery of hot and fresh food from the choicest restaurants in the city, TRAPIGO – with its own fleet of delivery boys in co-branded uniforms – will guarantee the execution.
Shree Mahalakshmi Swayam Sahayata Bachat Ghat, a self-help group (SHG) impanelled with the IRCTC under the e-catering project at Ratnagiri, famous for its export-quality Alphonso mangoes, has shown interest in selling fresh and naturally ripened organic mangoes to the passengers. The SHG will sell the mangoes at a discounted price of Rs 470 per dozen.
18. North and South Korea hold high level talks at Panmunjom
North and South Korea has agreed to hold military and Red Cross talks later this month on reducing tensions and resuming reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. The rivals also agreed at a meeting of senior officials at the border village of Panmunjom to establish a liaison office at the North Korean border town of Kaesong and hold sports talks on fielding combined teams for some sports at the Asian Games in August, as they continue to take steps toward reconciliation.
19. Pedro Sanchez takes charge in Spain
Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez will become Spain’s seventh prime minister after a no-confidence vote in parliament unseated Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government. The 46-year-old, until now the head of Spain’s largest opposition party (PSOE), could be sworn in by King Felipe VI.
