Latest Current Affairs – June 10 & 11 2018
1. England first world No 1 team to lose to an associate nation
England became the first team in cricket’s history to be a number one ranked side losing an ODI to an associate nation after their six-run loss against Scotland. Scotland’s 371 was the highest ODI total ever by an associate nation, while Jonny Bairstow became the only England batsman to hit a third consecutive ODI ton.
2. India to get its 1st police museum in Delhi
India will get its first national police museum in Lutyens Delhi. The museum, which will depict the history of central and state police forces, will come up as an underground facility in the premises of the National Police Memorial. It will be inaugurated on Police Commemoration Day, which is held on October 21.
3. Rafael Nadal wins his 11th French Open title in 14 yrs
Rafael Nadal, who defeated Dominic Thiem to win French Open for a record-extending 11th time, has defeated seven different opponents in his 11 French Open finals. Overall, it was Nadal’s 17th Grand Slam title. The world number one defeated Mariano Puerta to win his maiden French Open title in 2005 as a 19-year-old. Nadal clinched the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011 titles by defeating Roger Federer.
4. Total loss of state-run banks crossed ₹87,000 crore in FY18
Public sector banks collectively suffered a net loss of ₹87,357 crore in 2017-18, with PNB posting the highest loss of nearly ₹12,283 crore. Of the 21 state-owned banks, only Indian Bank and Vijaya Bank reported profits during the financial year. All the 21 banks had together reported a net profit of ₹473.72 crore in 2016-17.
3. Kim Jong-un arrives in Singapore for summit with Trump
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Singapore on Sunday for his historic summit with US President Donald Trump on June 12. The trip to Singapore represents the farthest Kim has traveled from North Korea since taking power after his father’s death in 2011. He will meet Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong later in the day.
4. Railways installs first-ever food vending machine in train
The Indian Railways has installed a tablet-operated automatic food vending machine in the newly-launched double-decker Coimbatore-Bengaluru UDAY Express. The machine offers snacks and beverages like biscuits, chips, aerated drinks and tea/coffee. The train is also equipped with an infotainment system with Wi-Fi, GPS-based passenger information system and an exclusive dining area for passengers.
5. Maharashtra most vulnerable state in disaster risk index
Maharashtra has been ranked the most vulnerable state in the draft National Disaster Risk Index, followed by West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. States like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh that are prone to natural calamities have been ranked relatively lower. Few factors taken into consideration were exposure of population, agriculture and livestock, environmental risk and economic vulnerabilities.
6. India and Denmark sign MoU in the field of sustainable and smart urban development
India and Denmark signed an MoU in the field of Sustainable and Smart Urban Development. The MoU will create employment in the areas of integrated solid waste management including waste to energy, sustainable transport systems, water and sanitation management, energy efficiency, resource mobilization.
The objective of this MoU is to promote bilateral cooperation in the field of sustainable and smart urban development on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit through the exchange of knowledge, institutional cooperation, research and development and commercial relations on related issues.
7. Sharad Kumar appointed as Vigilance Commissioner In CVC
Former NIA chief Sharad Kumar appointed vigilance commissioner in the probity watchdog CVC. The 62-year-old Kumar, a 1979-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre, retired in September last year after heading the National Investigation Agency, an anti-terror probe organization, for over four years.
Kumar has been appointed vigilance commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for a term of four years or till he attains the age of 65.
8. Forty Fourth G7 Summit held in Canada
The 44th G7 summit was held on June 8–9, 2018, in Quebec, Canada. This was the sixth time since 1981 that Canada has hosted the meetings. The 44th G7 summit was the first summit for Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hosted this summit. The 45th G7 summit will be held in 2019 in France.
9. India Beat Kenya To Lift Intercontinental Cup Football Title
India lifted the Intercontinental Cup football title. In the summit clash in Mumbai, they defeated Kenya 2-nil. Both the goals were netted by skipper Sunil Chhetri.
He gave India the lead in the eighth minute before scoring the second goal in the 29th minute. Sunil Chhetri become the joint second highest international goal scorer among active players along with Argentine superstar Lionel Messi with his 64th strike for the country against Kenya.
10. WHO Commends India For Reducing Maternal Mortality Ratio By 77%
The WHO commended India’s progress in reducing the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by 77 percent, from 556 per one lac live births in 1990 to 130 per one lac live births in 2016.
This progress puts the country on track towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target of an MMR below 70 by 2030. India’s present MMR is below the Millennium Development Goal target.
11. French Open 2018: Halep Beats Stephens To Win Maiden Grand Slam Title
World number one Simona Halep won her first Grand Slam title with a gutsy comeback victory over American 10th seed Sloane Stephens in the French Open final. The 26-year-old Romanian battled back to take a see-saw second set against the US Open champion. She then raced away with the third to win 3-6 6-4 6-1.
12. ‘Rasaraj’ Narayan Prasad Singh Passed Away
Odisha’s most popular lyricist, Narayan Prasad Singh was popularly known as ‘Rasaraj’ passed away at his residence in Bhubaneswar. Singh was 86. Born on May 28th, 1933 at Koeli village, Singh earned his name in the world of Odia music. He was the lyricist of several popular melodious songs in Odia cinema.
13. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Reaches China To Attend SCO Summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Qingdao, China, to attend the two-day long 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. This will be India’s first participation in the summit as a full-time member of the organization. India, along with Pakistan, became a full-time member during the Astana summit in June 2017.
Prime Minister Modi is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping apart from holding meetings with various other participating leaders.
14. India and China sign 2 agreements on Brahmaputra water data sharing & Non-Basmati rice export
India and China signed two bilateral agreements following the meeting between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit.
The agreements include continuing to share Brahmaputra water data during flood season and exporting non-Basmati rice to China.
The two countries have set a trade target of 100 billion dollars by 2020. During the hour-long meeting between Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi, both countries agreed on several initiatives to take forward the spirit of Wuhan Informal Summit. Chinese President accepted Prime Minister Modi’s invitation for a Wuhan type informal summit in India next year.
15. M Veerappa Moily honoured with ‘special award’ by Chennai-based NGO
Six parliamentarians have received ‘Sansad Ratna’ awards while former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily has bagged a special award for heading the parliamentary standing committee on finance.
Five MPs from Maharashtra and one from Odisha — belonging to different parties — won the best parliamentary performance award from Prime Point Foundation — a Chennai-based NGO. The ‘Sansad Ratna Awards 2018’ was instituted nine years ago by the NGO.
16. India to soon start producing first indigenous Lithium-Ion batteries
According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, India will start producing first indigenous Lithium Ion batteries. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for transfer of technology for India’s first Lithium Ion (Li-ion) Battery project was signed between CSIR’s Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu and RAASI Solar Power Pvt Ltd.
At present India depends on countries like China, Japan and South Korea for import of Lithium-Ion batteries. India imported Li-Ion batteries worth 150 million dollars in 2017 and is one of its largest importers in the world.
17. Government launches Rail Madad app to expedite and streamline passenger grievance redressal
Indian Railways has for the first time completely digitized the Complaint management system. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways & Coal launched a new App Rail Madad – An App to expedite & streamline passenger grievance redressal. The App relays real time feedback to passengers on the status of redressal of their complaints- the passenger gets an instant ID through SMS on registration of complaint followed by a customized SMS communicating the action taken thereon by Railway.
Rail MADAD (Mobile Application for Desired Assistance During travel) registers a complaint with minimum inputs from passenger(option of photo also available), issues unique ID instantly and relays the complaint online to relevant field officials for immediate action. The action taken on complaint is also relayed to passenger through SMS, thus fast tracking the entire process of redressal of complaints through digitisation.
Rail MADAD also displays various helpline numbers (e.g., Security, Child helpline etc) and provides direct calling facility for immediate assistance in one easy step.
18. Nipah virus: Kerala lifts high alert; schools to reopen
The Kerala government has decided to lift the high alert sounded in northern Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in the wake of the outbreak of deadly Nipah virus last month that has so far claimed 17 lives. Meanwhile, the vigil is expected to continue till June-end even as the educational institutions, schools and professional colleges will reopen on June 12.
19. Arvind Saxena appointed as acting Chairman of UPSC
UPSC member Arvind Saxena has been appointed as the acting chairman of the commission from June 20. Saxena, a 1978-batch Indian Postal Service officer, will take over the charge from incumbent Vinay Mittal who completes his term at the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on June 19.
20. Mauritius to host 11th World Hindi Conference
The upcoming 11th World Hindi Conference in Mauritius is likely to produce directives to increase the popularity of Hindi globally. The conference will cover both classical and modern elements of Hindi. The World Hindi Conference is a major event organised every three years by the External Affairs Ministry. The conference consists of several Hindi scholars, writers and laureates from different parts of the world to contribute the language.
First World Hindi Conference was inaugurated on 10 January 1975 by then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi.
