CURRENT AFFAIRS June Week I & II

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Awards and Honours 

• Renowned Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won gold medal on in people’s choice prize at world championship festival of sand sculpting Russe, 2016 in
• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the prestigious Olympic Order to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president N Ramachandran.
• For the fifth consecutive year, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has been named the most powerful woman in technology on the Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women list, placing at No. 7 on the list overall.
• Four Indian women led by Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman of the county’s largest lender, the State Bank of India (SBI), have been ranked in the latest Forbes list of 100 most powerful women in the world.

Others,

            ChandaKochhar of ICICI Bank (40th),

            KiranMazumdar-Shaw of Biocon (77th), and

            ShobhanaBhartia of HT Media,  (93rd).

• DirectorRidley Scott will be honored with the 30th American Cinematheque award during the organization’s annual benefit gala October 14 at the Beverly Hilton.
• UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been honored with Russia’s Order of Friendship. The respective decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin was published on the Russian official legal information website.
• Queen Elizabeth IIhas awarded the Regius Professorship (royal patronage) in Manufacturing to the department founded by Indian professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya in the University of Warwick.
• The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been conferred the National Award for Best Performing Central PSU for Roof Top Solar Power initiatives.
• Indian-American authorAkhil Sharma has won the prestigious 100,000-euro International Dublin Literary Award, the world’s richest award for a single novel, for his second novel ‘Family Life’.
• Rocker Rod Stewart has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in her annual Birthday Honors List, which also included recognition for astronaut Tim Peake and “Downton Abbey” star Penelope Wilton.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Amir Amanullah Khan Award, the highest civilian honour of Afghanistan.
• R Seetharaman, Group CEO of Doha Bank, has been honoured with the 2016 Green Economy Visionary Award.
• Legendary Oscar winning Indian music composer A R Rahman was awarded Japan’s Fukuoka prize for the year 2016.
  

Appointments

• Former Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassihas been appointed as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
• Rahul Johri appointed as a first ever CEO of BCCI.
• Senior IPS officer Navin Agarwal has been appointed as the chief of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), working for dope-free sports.
• Facebook India has named Umang Bedi as its managing director. He will take over from Kirthiga Reddy
• K.Chari has assumed office as the new Managing Director of State Bank of Mysore.
• Major General Per Lodin appointed Head of Mission for theUnited Nations Military Observer Group (UNMOGIP) in India
• Congress president has appointed two veterans , GhulamNabi Azad and kamalNath as AICC(All India congress Committee ) General secretaries
• Former Uttarkhand chief minister Vijay bahugunahas been inducted into BJP’s National Executive
• Swedish General per Lodinhas appointed as the head of UN India Pakistan military Observers(UNMOGIP) replacing Delali Johnson Sakyi.
• G Ragesh Chandra has been appointed as secretary puthucherry Chief minister V Narayanaswamy
• The senior-most Judge of the Manipur High Court Justice RakeshRanjan Prasad has assumed charge of the Chief Justice of the High Court.

Banking and Economy

• The Government of India and the World Bank has signed a US$ 9.2 million grant agreement under the World Bank-Global Environment Facility (GEF) Program for the Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Service Project
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for setting up the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) as a Public Limited Company.
• RBIhas asked banks to immediately put in place a cyber security policy to tackle internet-based threats to the banking system to specify potential risks as “low, moderate, high and very high” and said they must report all “unusual cyber-security incidents”.
• The World Bank has dropped the use of developing nation tag for India in its specialised reports and instead classifies it as a “lower-middle-income” economy in South Asia.
• HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co. Ltd acquired L&T General Insurance in an all-cash deal worth 551 crore.
• The Income Tax department has launched an ATM-based validation system for filing e-ITRs by taxpayers as part of its measure to enhance the paperless regime of filing the annual IT returns.
• India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a USD 120 million loan pact to improve irrigation and water management infrastructure in oddisa under the Orissa Integrated Irrigated Agriculture and Water Management Investment Program.
• Online retail giant Amazon is investing $3 billion into its India operations this year, according to founder Jeff Bezos, who was speaking at the U.S.-India Business Council Annual Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C.
• MadRat Games, has raised fresh funds from a consortium of investors including Ratan Tata, Ola’s founders Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Flipkart’s founder Binny Bansal, and Girish Mathrubootham of Freshdesk
• China has expressed serious concern over India initiating an anti-dumping probe against Chinese steel products as it sought a ‘fair’ and ‘transparent’ investigation in line with WTO rules.
• The World Bank has lowered its global growth forecast the world economy will grow at 4% in 2016 and at 2.8% in 2017, the World Bank said global economic prospects, lower than the earlier forecast of 2.9% and 3.1%, respectively,
• Axis Bank has raised $500 million at the London Stock Exchange after it launched India’s first internationally-listed certified green bond to finance climate change solutions around the world raised $500 million.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued guidelines called Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A) for Strengthen the lenders’ ability to deal with stressed assets and  Put real assets back on track of entities facing genuine difficulties by providing an avenue for reworking financial structure.
• The New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS countries is set to issue its first yuan-denominated bonds to finance sustainable development projects.

National Round-Up

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP). This is the first ever national plan prepared in the country.
• The government of India has signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB)for the latter to loan $200 million to upgrade 176 km of state roads in Jharkhand.
• The Union Ministry of Railways launched three passenger service initiatives viz. a Janani Sewa for mothers, optional catering in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains on a pilot basis and a children’s menu on trains.

• Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Power Minister Piyush Goyaland senior Congress leader P Chidambaram were today elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.
• India will not have a power deficit this year, a first time in history. The situation officials say is an outcome of the current government’s initiatives to resolve burning issues like fuel scarcity.
• India Posthas released a 5 stamp to mark the third anniversary of Amazon India’s services in the country. Called My Stamp,
• Guwahati, the Assam state capital has become the first city in the country to have its own City Animal with the Kamrup the Gangetic River Dolphin as the mascot.
• Under Swachh Rail-Swachh Bharat(Clean Rail-Clean India) programme, Indian Railways will fit bio-toilets on all its coaches by 2019 .All 55,000 coaches of Indian Railways would be fitted with 1,40,000 bio-toilets.
• Railway minister Suresh Prabhu announced a number of major railway projects for\Andhra Pradesh, including a high-speed rail line between new capital Amaravati andBengaluru.
• The sprawling and picturesque coastline of Kerala will soon become a “plastic and garbage-free” zone with the state government.
• Kerala is all set to become open defecation-free with the state-run Suchitwa Mission aiming to achieve the goal by November 1 this year.
• India has been ranked 141 on a Global Peace Index — making it less peaceful than countries like Burundi, Serbia and Burkina Faso
• Iceland was ranked as the world’s most peaceful country, followed by Denmark and Austria.
• Syriahas been named the least peaceful, followed by South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.
• Union Home Minister Rajnath Singhhas announced that a new Indian Reserve Battalion in Rajasthan will be named after Maharana Pratap, the great warrior of Mewar
• Laboratory testing of two popular baby care products of US firm Johnson & Johnson has been alleged over lack of warning about health risks of its talc-based products.
• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Delhi government  register  conforming to BS-IV norms  used for garbage disposal and handling of municipal waste generated in New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area.
• The Assam government has set up a single window clearance system at all district headquarters to help potential investors and to eradicate corruption.
• The new government has introduced the Assam Ease of Doing Business Bill 2016 in the House on June 3 this year, which was passed subsequently.
• Sikkim to become the first state in India to have an open government data portal. LokSabha MP, P D Rai launched the open government data portal ‘Sikkim.data.gov.in’ and Open Government Data Platform.
• Residents of Shiyal Bet, a non-descript island in Gujarat’s Amreli district woke up to cherish a moment they had been waiting for nearly seven decades after the country’s Independence — electricity supply in their homes.
• Telangana has the highest proportion of meat-eaters in the country with almost 99% of its residents being non-vegetarians, a Registrar General of India
• With the birth of a baby girl in Nagpur, India has reportedly recorded its first ever case of a baby born with a rare genetic disorder called ‘Harlequin Ichthyosis‘.The disease, which affects 1 out of 3 lakh babies.
• President Pranab Mukherjeehas rejected a Bill passed by the Delhi government that sought to exempt the post of parliamentary secretary from the dual office of profit law.
• The Indian unit of search giant Google Inc and Tata Trusts launched ‘Internet Saathi‘ program in West Bengal.
• The CM launched ‘Immersive Tele-presence with Integrated Water Management Command Centre’ by reviewing the progress of Polavaram irrigation project’s spillway works on Godavari river

International Round-Up

• The world’s longest and deepest tunnel Gotthard Base officially opened with the trailblazing rail passage under theSwiss Alps aiming to ease transit through the heart of Europe.
• The tunnel has overtaken Japan’s 53.9km Seikan rail tunnel as the longest in the world.
• Goa-born Sayonara Luxton has taken charge as the mayor of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in southeast England.
• Swedenhas been voted as the best country in the world to serving the interests of its people and contributing to the common good of humanity.
• China said that it will ignore the decision of an international arbitration panel in the Philippines’ lawsuit against Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea.
• Switzerland has promised to work with Indian authorities to tackle tax dodgers who stash money in Swiss bank accounts to avoid Indian taxes. The two countries had agreed to make combating tax evasion and “black money” a shared priority.
• In 2016 rankings,Walmart is the top dog on the Fortune 500 list for the fourth consecutive year based on total revenues for their fiscal years, Apple, which was the most profitable company on the list.
• June 5^th celebrated across the globe, this year’s theme for World Environment Day is ‘Join the race to make the world a better place’.
• Hillary Clinton has cemented her position as the presumptive Democratic nominee, seizing her place in history as the first woman to contest a US presidential election.
• The World Health Organization has announced that Thailand became the first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, a milestone in the fight against the disease.

 India and the World

• The PM Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of a MoU between United States of America and India to enhance wildlife conservation and combating wildlife trafficking.
• The India-Morocco Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IMCCI)was launched by visiting Vice President Hamid Ansari and Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane.
• The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at USD 1.26 billion in 2015 with Indian exports forming roughly 25 per cent of the trade volume.
• India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the French civil aviation authority to implement technical cooperation programme of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
• Indiahas inked a pact with the US to enhance cooperation in energy security and climate change with an aim to promote sustainable growth.
• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his Singaporean counterpart Ng EngHenmarked rising of bilateral defence cooperation to the highest level.
• The strategically important Chabahar Portin Iran, the government is looking eastwards and is in discussions with Bangladesh to develop a similar facility in

Science and Technology

• TRAI, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is now taking more steps to bring the pesky call menace under control. An app named ‘DND Services’that will help mobile users to manage unsolicited commercial communications (UCC).
• Drug firm Jubilant Life Scienceshas received final approval from the US health regulator for generic Levetiracetam injection, used for treatment of epilepsy, in the American market.
• India’stelemedicine market which has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 20 per cent holds the potential to cross $32 million (mn) mark by 2020 from the current level of over $15 mn.
• Dwarfed by huge jets all around, the mini-planeThor was nonetheless an eye-catcher at the Berlin Air Show – the small Airbus marvel is the world’s first 3D-printed aircraft.
• The world’s first passenger drone capable of autonomously carrying a person in the air for 23 minutes has been given clearance for testing inNevada at Chinese firm Ehang.
• TheFrench government has launched a smartphone app that would alert users to possible terror attacks and provide them with information on how to stay safe.
• International team of astronomers found an alien world namedHATS-18b. It is a giant hot Jupiter exoplanet tidally spinning up its parent star. The team led by KaloyanPenev of Princeton University.
• PiyushGoyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy launched “Surya Mitra” mobile Appat National Workshop on Rooftop Solar Power.
• The members of the34-nation Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an international anti-proliferation group, have agreed to admit India.
• TheUnited Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint space delivery service by aerospace giants Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company, carried out the launch of a Delta IV Heavy rocket.
• Iceland scientists turned CO2 into Stone under CarbFix Project Such carbon capture and storage (CCS) is thought to be essential to haltingglobal warming, but existing projects store the CO2 as a gas and concerns about costs and potential leakage.
• TheInternational Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the gatekeeper to the periodic table, announced the proposed names for elements 113, 115, 117 and 118: nihonium, moscovium, tennessine and oganesson.
• China has successfully launched 23rd satellite to support its global navigation and positioning network which is being developed to rival the US Global Positioning System BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS).
• Applehas now unveiled the latest version of its OS X desktop operating system; it’s now called macOS, with the latest version dubbed macOS Sierra.
• The U.S. has recognised India as ‘major defence partner, U.S. move will be complemented by India’s entry into theMissile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an exclusive club that restricts trade in sensitive defence technologies.
• A fleet of S., Japanese and Indian warships will hold a large-scale joint naval exercise over eight days in the Western Pacific, China pushes its territorial claims in the in the neighboring South China Sea, Tokyo and Washington.

• India and Qatar have signed seven agreements, including one on finance intelligence to check money laundering and terrorism financing and another to woo foreign investment in the infrastructure sector from the gas-rich Gulf state.
• The head of a U.N. human rights inquiry into Eritrea said an estimated 300,000-400,000 people had been enslaved over the past 25 years in Eritrea’s system of indefinite “national service”.
• Pakistan tops the list of countries figuring in the Malware Infection Index 2016,India ranks 8th on the list.
• A large-scalemilitary training exercise involving more than 20 NATO and partner countries has kicked off in Poland, reassure east European nations rattled by Russia’s actions in nearby Ukraine.
• TheWHO has declared that Liberia has reached the end of active Ebola virus transmission. 
• Peru’s elections authority announced thatPedro Pablo Kuczynski had defeated Keiko Fujimori in the 2016 presidential election.
• Norwayhas become the first country to stop clear-cutting of trees, a huge step toward curbing global deforestation.
• NATOannounced that the alliance will deploy four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
• Goa-born Sayonara Luxtonhas taken charge as the mayor of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in southeast England.

Snippets from the States

• The Indian unit of search giant Google Incand Tata Trusts have jointly launched ‘Internet Saathi’ program in Purulia district of West Bengal.
• The multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved 100 million dollars loan to strengthen a key irrigation system and improve water management in the Vennar sub-basin of Cauvery Delta in Tamil Nadu.
• Multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a loan agreement with India for providing new loan of 200 million dollars to upgrade 176 km of roads in
• Rajasthan Government has launched mobile application RajVayu for sharing information about air quality index of Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur.
• The Gujarat government has announced its first ever IT and Electronics Start-up Policy which will be applicable only to IT and electronics related start-ups.
• Ruling AIADMK P Dhanapal was unanimously re-elected as Speaker of the 15th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
• Ruling Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) candidate P Sreeramakrishnan was elected as speaker of the 14th legislative assembly of Kerala.
• Odisha became the first state in the country to give transgenderpeople social welfare benefits – such as a housing, pension and food grains.
• Union Road Transport and Highways Minister NitinGadkarihas launched 20 Nirbhaya buses of Rajasthan State Transport Corporation (RSTC).
• Andhra PradeshChief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has launched an IT-enabled management system for irrigation projects in the state.

Sports Point

• Five sports, including baseball, skateboardingand surfing, are set to feature at the2020 Tokyo Olympics. The inclusion of skateboarding, surfing, sports climbing and karate plus the joint baseball/softball bid at its session in Rio de Janeiro in August.
• Billionaire MukeshAmbani’s wife Nita Ambanihas been nominated for membership in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and will become the first Indian woman to be on the apex sporting body if she gets elected at the IOC Session.
• ShubhamJaglan, India’s 11-year-old golf prodigy, bagged his first-ever European Junior Championship, by a massive 13 strokes, at the Craigielaw Golf Club in Longniddry, Scotland.
• The International Olympic Committee (IOC)has unveiled its first ever team of refugees which will compete at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games under the Olympic flag.
• Argentinahave retained their number one spot in FIFA’s rankings ahead of Belgium and Colombia with Copa America and Euro 2016 soon to get underway.
• Cristiano Ronaldohas been named as the world’s most famous athlete ahead of his great rival Lionel Messi.
• GarbineMuguruzadefeated Serena Williams to claim her maiden grand slam title with a 7-5 6-4 win over the world number one and defending champion in the French Open final.
• Asian Games discus throw gold medal winnerSeemaPunia has been qualified for the Rio Olympics
• World number oneNovak Djokovic beat Britain’s Andy Murray to win his first French Open title and complete the career Grand Slam.
• Maria Sharapovahas been banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation for using a prohibited drug.
• The venerableEden Gardens ground will host the first ever day-night Test in the country when India take on New Zealand later this year.
• International para-olympics body lifts Indian athletes banned. International Paralympic Committee, decided to lift the ban on the Paralympic Committee of India(PCI) with the sole purpose of allowing Para-athletes of the country to compete at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games under the tri-colour.
• Real Madrid star Ronaldotops the list having earned $88 million (£60.9m) over the past 12 months, with Barcelona talisman Messi in second with earnings of $81.4m (£56.3m).
• ShuttlerSainaNehwalreceived a huge boost ahead of the Rio Olympics as she clinched her second Australian Open Super Series title after defeating China’s Sun Yu.
• India’sLeander Paes will become the only tennis player in the world and the first Indian to make a seventh appearance at the Olympics.
• Lewis Hamiltonenhanced his impressive personal record at the Canadian Grand Prix to claim pole position ahead of Mercedes team-mate NicoRosberg.

Environment

• Scientists at NASA’s Environment and Climate Change Canadaand researchers at University of Maryland, College Park and Dalhousie University discovered 39 unreported “major” sources of toxic air pollution.
• Haryana Government has launched Asia’s first ‘Gyps Vulture Reintroduction Programme’ at the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centreat Pinjore.
• The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA)has called for a complete ban on tourism activity at Galjibag beach in South Goa to protect the turtle nesting spots.
• TheArctic is on track to be free of sea ice this year or next for the first time in more than 100,000 years, a leading scientist has claimed.
• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, air pollution could cause 6-9 million premature deaths by2060, with the biggest mortality rate spike forecasted in India.

Obituary

• Noted comedian Razak Khan passed away
• Boxing legend Muhammad Ali died at 74
• Veteran theatre and film actor SulabhaDeshpande passed away
• Veteran Journalist KK Katyal passed away
• India’s first Mr Universe ManoharAich passed away
• Veteran journalist InderMalhotra died at 86
• Legendary Canadian ice hockey player Gordie Howe passed away
• Veteran theatre personality AchyutLahkar passed away
• Donald Carr, former England Cricket captain, died aged 89

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