Latest Current Affairs – June 07 2018
1. Maternal mortality ratio in India down 22%
The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in India has declined 22% from 167 in 2011-13 to 130 in 2014-16, according to data released by the Registrar General of India. Maternal mortality is the death of a woman while she is pregnant or within 42 days of termination of the pregnancy, due to any pregnancy-related issue.
2. Iceland most peaceful country, Syria least peaceful: Study
The Global Peace Index 2018 ranked Iceland as the world’s most peaceful country, while Syria, which has been facing a civil war since seven years, was found to the least peaceful. The Middle East and North Africa remained the least peaceful regions. All the four most peaceful regions–Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and South America, registered a decline in peace level.
3. WB Governor given additional charge of Tripura Governor
President Ram Nath Kovind gave West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi the additional charge of Tripura Governor till Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy is on leave. Notably, Tripathi had also been given the additional charge of Bihar governor in November 2014 after then Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind resigned when the BJP selected him as a presidential candidate.
4. Kohli BCCI’s best male international cricketer for last 2 seasons
Indian men’s cricket team captain Virat Kohli has been named BCCI’s best international cricketer (men) for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons and will receive the Polly Umrigar Award on June 12. Further, Indian women’s T20I team captain Harmanpreet Kaur and opener Smriti Mandhana will receive the award for best international cricketer (women) for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons respectively.
5. Govt approves Rs 10,000 crore to ISRO for future missions
The Central Govt has approved the continuation of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III programmes, costing over Rs 10,000 crore. While ?6,131 crore was allotted for launching light-weight satellites in 30 PSLV flights, ?4,338 crore was given for heavy-weight satellites on 10 GSLV missions. The funds will cater to missions from late-2019 to 2024.
6. Centre approves plan for 3 lakh solar street lights in India
The Union Cabinet has approved a ?637-crore plan which includes installing 3 lakh solar street lights throughout the country, especially northeastern states and Maoist-affected districts. It also includes distributing 25 lakh solar study lamps to all the students in such areas. Further, the Centre is planning a second phase to build stand-alone solar power plants where grid supply is unreliable.
7. Public Credit Registry: New Information Repository to be set up by RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it would set up a public credit registry—an information repository that collates all loan information of individuals and corporate borrowers. A credit repository will help banks distinguish between a bad and a good borrower and accordingly offer attractive interest rates to good borrowers and higher interest rates to bad borrowers. The public credit repository will address information asymmetry, improve access to credit and strengthen the credit culture among consumers.
8. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 Promulgated
President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to promulgate the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018. The Ordinance provides significant relief to homebuyers by recognising their status as financial creditors. It also gives them due representation in the Committee of Creditors and makes them an integral part of the decision-making process. It will also enable homebuyers to invoke Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 against errant developers. Another major beneficiary would be Micro, Small and Medium Sector Enterprises (MSME), which form the backbone of the Indian economy as the biggest employer, next only to the agriculture sector.
9. IBSA Ministerial Meet held at Pretoria, South Africa
The External Affairs Minister of the Republic of India, Smt. Sushma Swaraj, The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Ms. Lindiwe Sisulu and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Mr. Marcos Bezerra Abbott Galvão, met in Pretoria on 4th June, 2018 for the informal meeting of IBSA Foreign Ministers. The Ministers exchanged views on Development Cooperation and South-South Cooperation.
The IBSA Dialogue Forum is an international tripartite grouping for promoting international cooperation among these countries.
Founded: 6 June 2003, Brasília, Federal District, Brazil
10. Reservations in Promotions: Centre gets go ahead from SC
The Supreme Court has allowed the Centre to go ahead with reservation in promotion for employees belonging to the SC and ST category in “accordance with law”. The top court took into account the Centre’s submissions that the entire process of promotion has come to a standstill due to the orders passed by various high courts and the apex court had also ordered for status quo in a similar matter in 2015. The government said there were separate verdicts by the high courts of Delhi, Bombay, Punjab and Haryana on the issue and the apex court had also passed different orders on appeals filed against those judgements.
11. Iraq orders manual recount of all 1 crore votes
The Iraqi Parliament has ordered a full manual recount of the country’s recent parliamentary election where 1.1 crore votes were cast. This came in response to charges of electoral fraud. Elections were held in Iraq last month for the first time since the defeat of Islamic State in the country.
12. President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurates 73 km long NH in Tripura
President Ram Nath Kovind, who is arrived in Tripura, inaugurated National Highway from Matabari to Udaipur-Sabroom and said that the development of northeast India is a priority of the government. While inaugurating the 73 km long NH in Tripura, President Kovind said that infrastructure plays key role in development of any state.
The President also appreciated that though the project entailed working over some difficult terrain, the work was completed in only 30 months.
13. Central Government Constitutes Group To Suggest Changes In SEZ Policy
The Centre has constituted a group of eminent persons headed by Bharat Forge’s Baba Kalyani to study the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) policy of the country and suggest measures to make it more relevant for exporters and compatible with World Trade Organisation (WTO) norms.
The SEZ Act was passed in 2005 giving tax incentives to investors, but investments in the zone were subsequently brought under the ambit of Minimum Alternate Tax and Dividend Distribution Tax leading to a dwindling in flow of money into the SEZs.
14. Election Commission of India launches its online RTI Portal
The Election Commission of India has launched an online RTI portal to help applicants seeking information under the Right To Information Act. The portal can be accessed on the home page of the commission’s website ‘eci.nic.in’, an official statement said. There is also a gateway for making online payment of requisite fees under the RTI Act. The portal also facilitates online reply to applications and also for making first appeal and reply thereto.
15. World Bank approves Rs 6000 crores for Atal Bhujal Yojana aims to improve groundwater management in country
The World Bank has approved India’s Rs 6,000 crore central scheme which aims to improve ground water management in priority areas in the country through community participation over a period of five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23.
The ministry will soon seek Cabinet approval for the scheme – called Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY). The priority areas identified under the scheme fall in Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
16. India hosted 11th edition of Geo Intelligence Asia
The eleventh edition of Geo-Intelligence Asia 2018 was held at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on June 4-5, 2018. The annual event was organised by GeoSpatial Media and Communication in collaboration with Directorate General of Information System as Knowledge Partners and Military Survey as co-organisers. The sessions and exhibits in the stalls discussed the latest advancements in Geospatial Technologies, which were widely appreciated by all participants.
17. Myanmar, UN sign pact on steps for Rohingya return
Myanmar and U.N. agencies signed an agreement that could eventually lead to the return of some of the 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled brutal persecution by the country’s security forces and are now crowded into makeshift camps in Bangladesh. The memorandum of understanding promises to establish a “framework of cooperation” that aims to create conditions for “voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable” repatriation of Rohingya refugees but does not address Myanmar’s denial of citizenship for the minority.
18. Anupam Kher to be given Lifetime Achievement honour at upcoming IIFA
Veteran actor Anupam Kher will be given the lifetime achievement honour at the upcoming International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony in Bangkok. The 63-year-old actor has worked in over 500 films in a variety of languages over three decades in India and abroad. The ceremony will be held on June 24.
19. C18-Mica-4 can remove majority of pollutants from urban waste water: Spanish scientists
Spanish scientists have identified absorbent materials that can help soak up pollutants found in urban waste water in less than 24 hours. Researchers from University of Seville evaluated two types of phyllosilicates. These are a subclass of silicates and include common mineral in very different environments.
The results show that the material C18-Mica-4 is capable of eliminating the majority of pollutants that were evaluated in urban waste water, as well as surface water and potable water.
20. Mumbai airport handles 1k flights in 24hrs, breaks own record
The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, which is the world’s busiest single-runway airport, broke its own record by witnessing 1,003 flight operations in 24 hours on Tuesday. The airport’s previous record was on May 19, when it handled 988 flights in a day. The increase in flight operations was due to a storm on Monday that led to delays.
21. Government makes PAN mandatory for sending money abroad
The government has made Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for sending money abroad under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS). Earlier, PAN was not insisted upon for current account transactions of up to $25,000. The scheme allows all resident individuals to remit $250,000 overseas every financial year for the purposes of education, medical treatment, and purchase of shares among others.
