Current Affairs Daily Digest – June 16 & 17 2018
1. India to host European Union Film Festival
The European Union Film Festival (EUFF) 2018 will premiere in New Delhi. The festival will be organised in 11 Indian cities: New Delhi, Chennai, Port Blair, Pune, Puducherry, Kolkata, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Thrissur, Hyderabad and Goa from 18th June till 31st August.
The Festival will be inaugurated by the Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
2. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis seeks World Bank support for twin projects
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva at Washington DC.
Two projects were mooted for the World Bank’s assistance:
1) Rural transformation through sustainable livelihood in 10,000 villages and
2) A multimodal transport corridor in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
The Ford Motor Company submitted a proposal of 50 million USD for setting up a Centre of Excellence for integrated mobility in Maharashtra.
3. Veteran journalist Adiraju Venkateswara Rao passes away
80 year Old Veteran journalist and author Adiraju Venkateswara Rao passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana. His native is Khammam district.
In a career spanning over five-and-a-half decades, he worked for several Telugu and English dailies and news agencies including Andhra Jyothi, Udayam, Deccan Chronicle, Indian Express, Himachal Times and Hindustan Samachar at Hyderabad and Delhi.
4. Peggy Whitson most experienced space woman in the world retires as astronaut
NASA’s record-breaking astronaut, Peggy Whitson, retired on June 15 after a 22-year-long career. She has spent totally 665 days over three International Space Station missions.
The 58-year-old is the oldest woman to go into space and also the most experienced female spacewalker, with 10 missions.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo scores 1st hat-trick of FIFA World Cup 2018
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo (33 year old) scored FIFA World Cup 2018’s first hat-trick in the first match of the tournament.
This hat-trick was the 51st in World Cup history, as well as Ronaldo’s 51st career hat-trick. Ronaldo completed his sixth international hat trick when he scored on a free kick in the 88th minute, giving Portugal a 3-3 tie with Spain.
6. HDFC ranked 5th biggest consumer financial services company worldwide by Forbes
Housing finance major HDFC has been ranked as the 5th biggest public company globally in the ‘consumer financial services category’ on a list compiled by Forbes magazine.
American Express has ranked No:1 in this category, while Indiabulls Housing Finance is the only other Indian company (at 13th place) on the list.
There are a total of 58 Indian companies on the overall list of 2,000 firms from across the world. These include Reliance Industries at 83rd place, the only from India in the top-100. Besides, HDFC Bank is at 202nd, ONGC at 266th, Indian Oil at 270th and ICICI Bank at 320th.
7. Smriti Mandhana to become first Indian cricketer to play in Englands Kia Super League
India Women’s Cricket team opener Smriti Mandhana (21 year old) will become the first Indian player to appear in Kia Super League – the women’s cricket super league in England.
Last month, she captained the IPL Trailblazers in the recent Women’s T20 Challenge, which took place ahead of the VIVO IPL Qualifier One. Smriti has also featured in the Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat.
8. MARG ERP Limited partners with ICICI Bank
Marg ERP limited, a leading Inventory and Accounting software solution company has partnered with ICICI Bank, to offer an integrated payments platform to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) customers, using MARG’s accounting software.
This integration aims to promote ‘Connected Banking’ and enables ICICI Bank’s current account holders to securely connect their bank account with the MARG ERP software and undertake an array of digital transactions from within the ERP platform itself.
9. Assumption Island: Seychelles denies joint project with India to develop naval base
Ahead of his India visit, Seychelles President Danny Faure has said a joint project with New Delhi to develop a naval base at Assumption Island in his country would not move forward. There has been growing political opposition in Seychelles to a pact it signed with India in 2015 to develop a naval facility at the island which would have given India a strategic advantage in the Indian Ocean Region.
India was keen on developing the Assumption Island as a naval base to expand its footprint in the strategically key region where China has been trying to enhance its military presence. The pact on the Assumption Island between India and Seychelles was first signed in 2015 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to that country. An updated version of the original pact was finalised by the two sides earlier in 2018.
10. Peggy Whitson: NASA’s record-breaking spacewoman retires as astronaut
NASA’s record-breaking astronaut, Peggy Whitson, retired less than a year after returning from her last and longest spaceflight. She’s spent more time off the planet than any other American: 665 days over three space station missions. She’s also the world’s most experienced female spacewalker, with 10 under her spacesuit belt.
Whitson was the first woman to command the International Space Station, holding the position twice, and the oldest woman ever to fly in space. She was also the only woman to have served as chief of NASA’s male-dominated astronaut corps.
The 58-year-old biochemist, who grew up on an Iowa hog farm, joined NASA as a researcher in 1986 and became an astronaut in 1996. Her last spaceflight, spanning 2016 and 2017, lasted close to 10 months.
11. June 16: International Day of Family Remittances
The International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR), celebrated every year on 16 June, is aimed at recognizing the significant financial contribution migrant workers make to the well being of their families back home and to the sustainable development of their countries of origin. It is also aimed at encouraging the public and private sectors, as well as the civil society, to do more together and collaborate to maximize the impact of these funds in the developing world.
The theme of International Day of Family Remittances 2018 is Remittances: One family at a time
12. TCS becomes first Company to close over Rs. 7 Trillion Market Cap
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) became the first company to close the trading session with a market valuation of over Rs 7 trillion on a day when its board approved a share buyback of up to Rs 160 billion. TCS is the country’s most valued firm followed by Reliance Industries Ltd with an m-cap of Rs 6.42 trillion, HDFC Bank (Rs 5.28 trillion), HUL (Rs 3.50 trillion) and ITC (Rs 3.22 billion) in the top five list.
13. June 15: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
The United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 66/127, designated June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. It represents the one day in the year when the whole world voices its opposition to the abuse and suffering inflicted to some of our older generations.
Elder abuse is a global social issue which affects the health and human rights of millions of older persons around the world, and an issue which deserves the attention of the international community.
14. June 17: World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is observed every year to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification. The day is a unique moment to remind everyone that land degradation neutrality is achievable through problem-solving, strong community involvement and co-operation at all levels.
2018 Theme “Land has true value – invest in it.”
Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations.
15. Banks Board Bureau recommends 22 GMs for elevation as executive directors at PSU banks
The Banks Board Bureau (BBB), reconstituted in April, has just completed its first major exercise: recommending 22 general managers to be elevated as executive directors at various public sector banks. Set up in February 2016 – based on the recommendations of the RBI-appointed Nayak Committee – its broad agenda was to improve governance at state-owned lenders. Its mandate also involved advising the government on top-level bank appointments and assisting banks with capital-raising plans as well as strategies to deal with bad loans.
The reconstituted bureau is headed by Chairman BP Sharma, Former Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, who replaced former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai when his two-year term ended in end-March.
