CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR JUNE 2017 – HIGHLY USEFUL FOR IBPS PO/IBPS CLERKS/KVB AND OTHER PRIVATE BANKS OFFICERS/CLERKS RECRUITMENT --JUNE 1 TO 8, 2017

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR JUNE 2017 – HIGHLY USEFUL FOR IBPS PO/IBPS CLERKS/KVB AND OTHER PRIVATE BANKS OFFICERS/CLERKS RECRUITMENT

1^st June 2017

Telangana Government launches T-Wallet.

Telangana has launched a digital wallet titled as T- Wallet. It is the official digital wallet of the state, offering anytime anywhere platform for digital payments with no additional charge for citizens. It uses 2 factor authentications, Aadhaar+Biometric or Aadhaar+OTP. Transaction Analysts has partnered with Telangana to develop T-Wallet. It is 1st official e-wallet from any state govt.

NASA’s first mission to the sun.

NASA is launching a spacecraft named ‘Parker Solar Probe’ to Sun in the summer of 2018. It will explore sun’s outer atmosphere and make critical observations that will answer decades-old questions about the physics of how stars work. The 10-feet high Solar Probe will fly within 6.4 million km of the sun’s surface right into the solar atmosphere. This will be NASA’s first mission to the sun

Choudhary re-elected to ITTF board.

Dhanraj Choudhary is re-elected as a Board of Director for another four-year term. This is his second successive term as BoD member at the ITTF. He is the former Secretary General of the Table Tennis Federation of India. The International Table Tennis Federation is the governing body for all international table tennis associations.

India, Pak to become full SCO members.

India and Pakistan’s admission as full members to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will be formalised at the Astana Summit in Kazakhastan. SCO was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Beijing. The group comprises Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, besides China as full members. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status.

Rao appointed public policy fellow.

Nirupama Rao has been appointed public policy fellow to a Washington-based think-tank. She will work on a project on the Sino-India ties for the top American think-tank. She will be affiliated with the Wilson Centre’s Asia programme. She was India’s first woman ambassador to China and first woman spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is also former Indian envoy to the US.

Supr Daily raises funds.

Groceries subscription startup Supr Daily has raised $1.5 million from Silicon Valley-based investors. The funding round saw the participation of Soma Capital, Great Oaks Ventures, 122 West Ventures. Supr Daily delivers daily consumable goods such as milk, bread, eggs and coconut water, to users every morning. Supr Daily was founded by IIT-Bombay alumni Kumar and Shreyas Nagdawane in 2015.

US completes first ICBM intercept test.

US military has successfully carried out its first-ever missile defense test to intercept ICBM. US military fired an intercontinental ballistic missile type weapon from the Kwajalein Atoll and then fired a missile to intercept it from Vandenberg air force base. Officials said that test was planned “years in advance” and was not a direct response to North Korean missile tests.

Buy Now, Pay Later service for bookings.

Indian Railways has introduced ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ service for passengers to book tickets. It will allow passengers to make payment for tickets booked online within a window of 15 days. The facility is available for confirmed, waitlisted and RAC births. The ticket buyers will be asked to provide their Aadhaar and PAN card details and an OTP will be generated for final booking.

Man Utd Europe’s most valuable club.

Manchester United has been named Europe’s most valuable club by auditing firm KPMG. According to KPMG the club has enterprise value of €3 billion. Real Madrid was ranked second while Barcelona was ranked third. Despite finishing far from Premier League top positions, United topped the list becoming the first club to surpass the EUR 3 billion threshold in Enterprise Value.

Guha resigns from BCCI admin panel.

Ramachandra Guha has resigned from BCCI’s four-member Committee of Administrators. The committee was appointed by the Supreme Court in January to implement the Lodha panel recommendations in the Board. The committee is headed by former comptroller and auditor general Vinod Rai. Guha is a historian and writer. Some of his famous book are “Wickets In the East” and “Corner of a foreign Field”.

New technology to manufacture biofuel.

Researchers at IIT Kharagpur have developed a new technology that will make biofuel manufacturing process cheaper, quicker and pollution free. The technique is known as ‘soil-to-soil’ manufacturing technology. It will makes use of natural resources to extract gaseous and liquid biofuel and then converts the wastes into bio fertilizer. It will ensure relatively quicker production of biofuel.

India’s growth to accelerate to 7.5%.

According to ratings agency Moody’s Indian economy will grow by 7.5 in fiscal year 2017 and 7.7% in 2018. Moody’s also pointed out that growth will gradually accelerate to around 8% over the next 3 to 4 years. The agency also said that the negative impact of last year’s demonetization on the economy has been limited in size and duration. Growth in China is expected to be muted at 6.6%

World Health Assembly held in Geneva.

70th edition of World Health Assembly was held from 22nd to 31st May 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. Member States elected Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as the new Director-General of WHO. From India, J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, addressed the plenary meeting on the theme – ‘Advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: building better systems for health’.

Indian Mobile Congress in September.

Union Minister for Communications Manoj Sinha has made the formal announcement of India Mobile Congress 2017. The 3 day IMC will be held from 27th to 29th September 2017 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. It will see participation of government bodies, TSP, telecom and handset equipment manufacturers, app providers. The event is being organised by DOTC along with COAI and other stakeholders.

MoES to launch Deep Ocean Mission

MoES is all set to launch ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ by January 2018. It will improve India’s position in ocean research field. India has designated an area of 75,000 square km for deep sea exploration. This area has an estimated resource of about 100 million tonnes of strategic metals such Copper, Nickel, Cobalt besides Manganese and Iron.

9 Indian cities in Global 300 cities.

Nine Indian cities figured on the latest edition of ‘Global 300’ cities. Delhi and Mumbai ranked in the Global Top 30 while other cities such as Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata were in ‘Global Top 100’. On Commercial Attraction Index, New York ranked 1st, whereas in terms of Economic Size, Tokyo has ranked 1st. The list has been compiled by Jones Lang LaSalle.

New office of NSSO inaugurated.

Sankhyiki Bhawanis the new office of NSSO has been inaugurated in New Delhi. With the inauguration of the new building, all the Divisions will come under one roof. NSSO is responsible for conducting socio-economic surveys and comes under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. India is participating in current phase of International Comparison Programme with reference to 2017.

ADB and PNB sign $100 million loan.

The Asian Development Bank and Punjab National Bank has signed a $100 million loan. The loan will be used to finance large solar rooftop systems on industrial and commercial buildings throughout India. PNB will use the ADB funds to make further loans to various developers and end users to install rooftop solar systems. This agreement has been guaranteed by the Government of India.

Lahiri Wins 2017 PEN/Malamud Award.

Indian American author Jhumpa Lahiri has been announced as the recipient of the 2017 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize. Some of her famous books are The Namesake, In Other Words and The Lowland. The award was established by Bernard Malamud’s family to honor excellence in the art of short fiction.

Kurian appointed as Vice-Chairman of NCM

Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has appointed George Kurian as Vice-Chairman of National Commission for Minorities. He is a renowned social and educational activist from Kerala. The National Commission for Minorities is responsible for safeguarding the constitutional rights of minorities in India. Recently Hasan Rizvi was appointed as the Commission’s chairman.

2^nd June 2017

India, Russia ink nuclear plant pact.

India and Russia have signed an agreement on setting up the last two units of the Kundankulam nuclear power plant. The fifth and the sixth unit will cost about Rs 50,000 crore with half of it being funded by Russia. The reactors will be built by India’s Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Russia’s Atomstroyexport. Each of the 2 units will have a capacity to produce 1,000 MW of power.

Lajcak to be next UNGA president.

United Nations General Assembly has elected Miroslav Lajcak to be its next president. He will succeed Peter Thomson in September and chair the assembly’s 72nd session. He is a Slovak diplomat and currently the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Investing more in conflict prevention, Stepping up action on U.N. goals to end poverty and addressing climate change by 2030 are his major priorities.

Prithvi-II successfully test-fired

India has successfully test-fired Prithvi-II ballistic missile from Chandipur, Odisha. Prithvi-II is a joint initiative of DRDO and Bharat Dynamics Limited. It is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is made from aluminum alloy. It is a surface-to-surface missile having strike range of 350 km and has been inducted into the 333-missile regiment of the Indian Army.

China becomes fastest growing economy

China has overtaken India to become the world’s fastest-growing economy. India’s economic growth slowed for the fourth consecutive quarter losing out the fastest-growing economy tag to China. India’s GDP growth slowed to 6.1% in the fourth quarter while China recorded a growth rate of 6.9%. The effect of demonetization on key sectors such as housing, finance, and others are now being felt.

Global Peace Index 2017

Iceland has been named the world’s most peaceful country, topping the Global Peace Index for the tenth consecutive year. Syria has been named the least peaceful country, followed by Afghanistan. India has moved up 4 position, from 141st last year to 137th this year. Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world, with 8 of 10 most peaceful countries coming from this region.

Trial of 2nd Scorpene Class Submarine

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has announced that second Scorpene-class submarine is ready for surface sea trial. INS Khanderi is the 2nd Scorpene class submarine that will undergo the trail. 1st Scorpene class submarine INS Kalvari has already undergone various trials. It has been built by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai.

It is 2 of 6 submarines being built at MDL in collaboration with DCNS

RBI appoints Ganesh Kumar as ED

Reserve Bank of India has appointed S. Ganesh Kumar as the new Executive Director. He will succeed Chandan Sinha. Prior to his elevation he was Chief General Manager-in-Charge, Department of Information Technology in the RBI. As ED, he will look after Department of Information Technology, Department of Payment and Settlement Systems and Department of External Investments and Operations.

Trump pulls US out of Paris climate

Donald Trump has announced that he will withdraw the US from the Paris climate change agreement. He said that the agreement on climate change was unfair to United States and countries like China and India are benefiting the most from Paris Agreement. By puling out of the deal US will join Syria and Nicaragua as nations who are not part of the deal. 195 countries have signed this agreement.

Sebi bars Cypress Money

SEBI has barred Cypress Money Investment Advisor and its three partners from acting as investment advisors and research analyst. SEBI found they were acting as investment advisors and research analyst without securing registration from the regulator. The firm has been directed not to divert any funds raised from the investors and to immediately withdraw and remove all the advertisements.

Modi fest begins in Andhra Pradesh

Making of Developed India (MODI), a 3 day festival has been launched in Andhra Pradesh. It is being celebrated to mark the successful completion of three-year rule by NDA govt. under the leadership of PM Modi. It will have Jan ki Baat voice of the people stall and a survey on Namo App, with an exhaustive list of questions. It will also have an exhibition of all schemes launched by PM Modi.

‘SPARROW-ITS’ launched

Govt has launched SPARROW ITS: Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window. It is in accordance with Govt’s policy to introduce online Annual Performance Appraisal Report for Group A services. Main aim is to enable Indian Trade Service officers to fill their APAR online from 2016-17 onwards. ITS officers would get benefited by timely promotions upon evaluation of their APARs.

NAAC wins APQN Quality Award

National Assessment and Accreditation Council has received APQN Quality Award 2017. NAAC has been awarded for its pro-active role in international quality assurance scenario. APQN Quality Award are among the most prestigious International Awards in quality assurance of higher education. NAAC is an organisation that assesses and accredits institutions of higher education in India.

India signs Agreement with World Bank

Indian Govt has signed USD 36 million loan agreement with World Bank for Himachal Pradesh Public Financial Management Capacity Building Program. Objective of the project is to improve the efficiency of Public Expenditure Management and Tax Administration in Himachal Pradesh. Program is expected to improve budget credibility, strengthening systems and procedures to improve fiscal discipline.

Mega food park inaugurated at Rayagada

Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated first Mega Food Park in the state of Odisha. This is the 7th Mega Food Park operationalized in last 3 years by the government. Govt of India has provided a financial assistance of Rs.50 Crore to the project. The Park will also provide direct and indirect employment to 5000 people and benefit about 25000 farmers.

Ralang Road to compete at Karlovy Vary

Nepali-Hindi film Ralang Road will represent India at the 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival at Karlovy Vary. The film explores cultural immigration and lifestyles in a complex social setup. The film has been directed by Karma Takapa and produced by HumanTrail Pictures. It will be after 13 years that an Indian film will compete with other international films at this film festival

Sanjiv Singh takes over as IOC Chairman

Sanjiv Singh has taken over as the Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation. He will replace B Ashok. Prior to his elevation, Sanjiv Singh was Director (Refineries) on the IOC Board since July 2014. He played a key role in the setting up, commissioning and stabilisation of two of IOC’s biggest greenfield refineries at Panipat and Paradip.

Vinay Dube named Jet Airways CEO

Jet Airways has appointed Vinay Dube as its Chief Executive Officer. He is currently senior vice president, Asia Pacific with Delta Air Lines Inc. He has an established track record of business restructuring at large, complex, multi-national organisations. CEO’s position has been vacant for more than two years, since Cramer Ball resigned as CEO.

Japan launches satellite to improve GPS

Japan launched a new satellite to improve the global positioning system’s accuracy and establish an efficient communication system in the event of natural disasters. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries launched the latest version of the H-IIA rocket with the Michibiki 2 communications satellite. It is a part of the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System.

Job portal ‘Mahaswayam’ introduced

Maharashtra CM, Devendra Fadnavis has recently launched a web portal Mahaswayam. The portal will cater to job seekers, employers, entrepreneurs, and training institutes who can avail details regarding skill development and employment. Earlier, govt ran 3 different portals – Maharashtra Skill Development Society, Maharojgar and Mahaswayamrojgar. These 3 have now been merged into Mahaswayam.

World Milk Day observed

World Milk Day is observed every year on June 1 to recognise the importance of milk as a global food. It is established by the Food and Agriculture Organization and was first designated by the FAO in 2001. The Day provides an opportunity to focus attention on milk and to publicise activities connected with milk and dairy industry. Theme of World Milk Day 2017 is Raise a glass for milk.

3^rd June 2017

Neelakanta to be a member of URC

Ganeshan Neelakanta Iyer has become the first Indian to be nominated as a member of Umpires and Referees Committee. His term as URC member is for 2 years. He is also the chairman of South Asian Federation technical committee and member of Technical Committee of Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation. He has also officiated in various International competitions including Commonwealth Games.

India has 31% of world’s poor kids

According to a new report by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, 31% of world’s multi dimensionally poor children live in India. 689 million poor children live in India, followed by Nigeria and Ethiopia. More than 528 million Indians are poor, which is more than all the poor people living in Sub-Saharan Africa combine. The study is based on survey conducted among 103 countries.

Leo Varadkar to be next Irish PM

Indian origin Leo Varadkar is set to become the Republic of Ireland’s next Prime Minister. He will become country’s youngest ever and first gay Prime Minister. He is also the first PM from an ethnic minority background. Varadkar defeated Housing Minister Simon Coveney with 60 per cent of the votes. He will succeed Enda Kenny as leader of the centre-right party.

Varanasi to get freight village

Varanasi will get India’s first ‘freight village’ spread over around 100 acres. The project will be setup close to the multi-mode terminal on the banks of the river Ganga. It is one-of-its-kind infrastructure platform, will anchor movement of goods by railways and roadways ultimately dovetailing with the waterways. It will be developed by Inland Waterways Authority of India.

UN Security Council expands sanctions

U.N. Security Council has expanded targeted sanctions against North Korea after its repeated missile tests. The new sanctions extend a travel ban and asset freeze on high-level North Korean officials and state entities that deal with the program. North Korea’s strategic rocket force, the Koryo Bank and 2 trading firms were also blacklisted. UNSC first imposed sanctions on Pyongyang in 2006.

Punjab & UK to promote skill development

Punjab govt. and United Kingdom have decided to join hands for imparting skill training and technical education to the youths of the state. It is done in order to provide youth better employment opportunities across the world. An MoU will be signed between Punjab and UK for the same. As per the MoU, students who study degree courses in Punjab or UK would be provided dual certificate.

Nitin Kumar wins boys singles title

Indian wild card Nitin Kumar Sinha won the boys singles title of HCL Asian Junior Tennis Championship. He defeated Malaysian player Christian Didier Chin in the final match. The Asian Junior Tennis championship is the second highest tournament anywhere in the world after the junior grand slams. Players from 11 countries are participating in the tournament.

Messi amusement park in China

Lionel Messi will launch an amusement park themed around him “Messi Experience Park” in China. The park will use virtual and augmented reality to re-run the highlights of his career and take people through training sessions with a VR Messi. The park will be built in collaboration with Phoenix Group and Mediapro. The park is set to open in 2019 and will have 20+ attractions based around him.

Army to induct 18 Dhanush artillery guns

The first regiment of 18 Dhanush artillery guns will be inducted into the Army by the end of the year. It is a medium gun with a max range of 40 km, and has a high angle of attack. So it can be deployed in both deserts and mountains. Dhanush is an upgraded version, based on the original design of the Swedish 155-mm Bofors howitzers. The Army has placed an initial order for 114 guns.

Automatic coastal warning for disasters

Odisha is all set to commission Early Warning Dissemination System. The system would enable loud sirens go off simultaneously from towers at 122 location. The system will also enable authorities to alert people in smaller pockets, depending on the severity of the disaster. Odisha is the 1st State to have developed an automatic public address system that can be activated along the coast.

Committee on corporate governance

To improve standards of corporate governance of listed companies, Sebi has setup a Committee on corporate governance. The committee will be headed by Uday Kotak. The panel would suggest measures for addressing issues faced by investors on voting and ways for improving effectiveness of board evaluation practices. It will also suggest Sebi on issues pertaining to disclosure and transparency.

​Samsung to set up 2 more tech schools

Samsung India has signed a MoU with the Ministry of MSME for setting up 2 new Samsung Technical Schools. The 2 new technical schools will be setup in Bengaluru and Jamshedpur. Samsung already runs 10 such schools in collaboration with DTE. Samsung also announced a Scholarship programme, under which 1000 girls and differently-abled trainees will be given a grant of up to Rs. 20,000.

BEML bags Raksha Mantri award

BEML Ltd has bagged the ‘Raksha Mantri’s Award for Excellence’ under the group award category for design and development. It has been awarded for design and development of 180 tonne class electric hydraulic excavator – BE1800E. BE1800E is the biggest-ever excavator designed and developed in India. BE1800E is cost-efficient and an emission-free alternative to engine-driven excavators.

Nitin Gadkari launches INAM-Pro +

INAM-Pro+ is a Web Platform for Sale and Purchase of Construction Material and Service. It is an upgraded version of INAM-Pro, a common platform to bring cement buyers and sellers together. INAM-Pro+ will include A to Z of construction materials, equipments and services. It will enable buyers to procure construction material/services at reasonable rates in a transparent manner.

Vivo to sponsor FIFA World Cup

Vivo has become the official sponsor for the 2018 and 2022 editions of FIFA World Cup. Vivo has signed an agreement with International Federation of Association Football to sponsor the FIFA World Cup for 6 years. Vivo will pay about Rs 500 crore a year to sponsor the tournaments. According to research firm IDC, Vivo was the world’s 5th biggest seller of mobile phones in 2016.

Vempati named CEO of Prasar Bharati

Shashi Shekhar Vempati has been appointed the new chief executive officer Prasar Bharati. He will replace Jawhar Sircar who resigned from the post. He had been on the board of Prasar Bharati as a part-time member. His appointment as CEO was made on the recommendation of a 3 member committee headed by vice-president Hamid Ansari. His tenure will be for 5 years.

WI cricket team renamed as ‘WINDIES’

The West Indies Cricket Board have officially changed their name to Cricket West Indies. The team from now on officially, will also be called as just Windies and not West Indies as previously. Windies has been associated with cricket teams that represent the Caribbean Islands in a more colloquial way. West Indies did not qualify for this year’s Champions Trophy due to series of ODI defeats.

US Scripps National Spelling Bee winner

Indian-origin student Ananya Vinay has won the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee 2017 contest. She spelled the French word ‘marocain’ to win the trophy and $40,000 cash prize. After 3 consecutive years of ties, the bee this year had a sole champion. Aim of Scripps National Spelling Bee is to help students improve their spelling, increase vocabulary and develop correct English usage.

NASA to launch neutron star mission

NASA is set to launch world’s first mission to study about rapidly spinning neutron stars. NASA plans to launch two-in-one Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer aboard SpaceX CRS-11. It will collect X-rays generated from the stars tremendously strong magnetic fields and from hotspots located at their two magnetic poles. Neutron stars are the smallest and densest stars known to exist.

Denmark scraps blasphemy law

Danish lawmakers have repealed a 334-year-old blasphemy law. The law which forbids public insults of a religion, such as the burning of holy books has been scraped. But remarks and acts that threaten or demean certain groups of people because of their religious beliefs will still be punishable. Denmark was the only Scandinavian country with a blasphemy law.

4^th June 2017

SpaceX launches 1st recycled cargo ship

SpaceX has launched its first recycled cargo ship to the International Space Station. An unmanned Falcon rocket lifted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center with a Dragon capsule that made a station delivery nearly three years ago. When this refurbished Dragon reaches the orbiting lab it will be the first returning craft. This is SpaceX’s 11th mission under a NASA contract.

Praneeth wins Thailand Grand Prix Gold

Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth lifted his maiden Grand Prix gold title by defeating Indonesian Jonatan Christie in the men’s singles final. Praneeth defeated Indonesian Jonatan Christie 17-21, 21-18, 21-19. This is his second title in 2017. He had previously won the Singapore Super Series. The 24th-ranked Praneeth reached the final by beating Pannawit Thongnuam of Thailand.

Indian army team sets record

A team of four Indian Army personnel successfully climbed Mt Everest without supplementary oxygen. More than 4,000 people have so far climbed Everest, of which only 187 people have done this without oxygen on individual basis. This was for the first time that any team had made attempt to climb the Everest without supplementary oxygen.

India tests QR-SAM for first time

Indigenously developed Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile was test-fired for the first time from Balasore, Odisha. It has been jointly developed by DRDO and Bharat Electronics. The missile system can engage multiple targets within a range of around 30 km with two vehicle configuration for area air defence. It is a truck-mounted missile with a 360° rotatable, turret-based launch unit.

Govt retains top law officers

The terms of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar and five other senior law officers have been extended by the government. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has extended the tenure of the law officers until further orders. Rohatgi was appointed as Attorney General on June 11, 2014 while Kumar to the post of Solicitor General on June 7, 2014.

Army to allow women in combat roles

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has said women will soon be inducted in combat roles in the Army. Currently women are allowed in selected areas including in medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the Army. Countries like France, UK, US and Israel have allowed women in combat roles. Indian Air Force, last year, had inducted three women as fighter pilots.

NASA to launch Sounding Rocket

NASA will launch a sounding rocket which will release blue-green and red artificial clouds. The rocket will eject vapour canisters between 10 to 20 km from the rocket’s main payload. The vapor tracers will allow scientists on the ground to view the movement of the particles in the ionosphere. The sounding rockets are short lived and follows a parabolic trajectory.

Real Madrid win Champions League

Real Madrid became the first team to retain Champions League title. Real Madrid defeated Juventus 4-1 to clinch 2017 UEFA Champions League. Ronaldo scored twice while Casemiro and Marco Asensio got a goal each. Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player in the 25 seasons of the Champions League era to score in three finals. This is Madrid’s 12th Champions League title.

‘Fireball’ hits computers globally

Chinese malware named ‘Fireball’ has infected over 250 million computers worldwide. It is designed to hijack browsers to changedefault search engine and track their web traffic on behalf of a digital marketing firm called Rafotech. It has the ability to spy on victims, perform efficient malware dropping and execute any malicious code. India and Brazil have been hit worst by Fireball.

India is third in best-value fares

According to Kiwi.com’s 2017 Flight Price Index, India ranked third in best-valued air ticket prices in 2017. India dropped to third position from its top slot last year. The survey said India’s average flight cost for travel of 100 km rose from $3.25 in 2016 to $4.96 in 2017. Malaysia, with airfares at $4.18 for 100 km travel and Bulgaria ($4.65) preceded India.

UNGA elects 5 non-Permanent UNSC Members

The UN General Assembly has elected Cote D’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Poland and Peru as the non-permanent members of the Security Council. They have been elected for a period of 2 years beginning January 1, 2018. Netherlands was also elected to serve a one-year term it shares with Italy. UN Security Council is made up of 10 elected members and 5 permanent veto-wielding powers.

IIT Kharagpur develops ‘AmbuSens’

IIT Kharagpur has come up with a wireless technology to remotely monitor patients’ condition ferried in ambulances. ‘AmbuSens the technology has been developed in SWAN lab of the Institute. It can be fitted in an ambulance to ensure remote monitoring of patient condition by doctors even before they reach hospital. It can monitor parameters like ECG, heart rate and blood pressure.

Mumbai Metro ties up with Google Maps

Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd has collaborated with Google Maps to give people its authentic timetable and associated geographic details on all Metro stations on the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route. Trip timings of each service operated by them will be available in Google Maps app. The app will also showcase facilities like stairs, escalators, ticket counters, in all the 3 levels of the station.

K K Paul launches Vidya-Veerta mission

Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul has launched Vidya-Veerta Abhiyan by presenting VC’s of universities with portraits of Param Vir Chakra recipients. It will be displayed at institutions to send out a message that not only soldiers but every citizen is responsible for country’s safety. Campaign aims to construct a wall of valour to display portraits of 21 soldiers decorated with Param Vir Chakra

SBI funds 100 MW Rooftop solar projects

SBI has announced financing of 100 MW rooftop solar projects worth Rs 400 crore for private developers under a World Bank programme. The Developers that SBI will be financing include Azure Power, Amplus, and Cleanmax. Capacity of the projects financed range from 25kWp to 16MW. SBI is making efforts to expand and incentivise the market for rooftop solar power by way of low cost financing.

Jaitley launches Telangana Solar Plant

Arun Jaitley inaugurated a grid-connected solar power plant of 16 MW capacity at the Ordinance Factory in Telangana. The plant has been set up at a cost of Rs 105 crore by Bharat Electronics Limited. He also dedicated a 9 MW capacity windmill project installed at Dammur in Karnataka. The windmill project has been set up at a cost of Rs 53 crore by BEML.

Sudha Singh claims gold medal

Rio Olympian Sudha Singh claimed a gold medal in the women’s 3000m steeplechase at 21st Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championships. She clocked 10 minutes 03.01 secs to finish over a 100m ahead of Parul Chaudhary. Her personal best is 9 minutes 26 secs, clocked at Shanghai Diamond League last year. Sudha Singh is an Indian Olympic athlete in the 3000 metres steeplechase event.

RCom-Aircel merged wireless company

Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani has announced that the merged entities of RCom and Aircel will be called Aircom. Both R-Com and Maxis will hold 50% each in Aircom. As part of this transaction, RCom’s overall debt will reduce by Rs 14,000 crore. The merged entity will have the second largest spectrum holding amongst all operators.

Mann appointed as Ambassador to Slovenia

Param Jit Mann has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Slovenia. He is presently Ambassador of India to the Slovak Republic. He has also served as Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs. Mann is an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1987 batch.

Abdul Rahman passes away

Tamil poet S. Abdul Rahman passed away in Chennai after a brief illness. He was popularly known as Kavikko. Abdul Rahman received several awards and honours such as ‘Kalaimamani’ title and ‘Agni Akshara’ Award. He also win the Sahitya Akademi award in 1999 for his collection of poems, Aalapanai. He even introduced Sufism to Tamil poetry and translated many Urdu and Hindi poems into Tamil.

5^th June 2017

E-taxi service launched in Hyderabad

An e-taxi service was launched in Hyderabad to mark the World Environment Day. The e-taxis have been launched by Green Mile, an electric vehicle infrastructure start-up company. The taxis will operate from different parts of the city to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. To begin with, five e-taxis have been launched on a pilot basis.

ISRO launches heaviest rocket

ISRO launched India’s heaviest rocket GSLV-Mk III along with a communications satellite GSAT-19 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The 43.43m rocket that weighs 640 tonnes is capable of lifting payloads of up to 4000 kg into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. The rocket’s cryogenic engine has been developed by space scientists indigenously. It was developed in 15 years at a cost of ₹300 crore.

India sink in World competitiveness list

India has been ranked 45th, down 4 notches from last year in IMD’s World Competitiveness list. Hong Kong topped the list while Switzerland and Singapore were ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively. USA stood at 4th spot – Its lowest position in five years. As India slid, China improved its position by seven places to 18th. Cyprus and Saudi Arabia made their first appearance on the list this year.

India tops Global Retail Development

India has surpassed China to secure the top position among 30 developing countries on ease of doing business in retail sector. This is the 16th edition of the Global Retail Development Index, The GRDI, titled ‘The Age of Focus’, ranks China in second place. India’s retail sector has been growing at an annual rate of 20 per cent and the sector is expected to double in size by 2020.

India’s first bicycle sharing scheme

A public bicycle sharing system, Trin Trin was launched by chief minister Siddaramaiah in Mysuru. It is India’s first bicycle sharing scheme. A total of 450 bicycles can be borrowed for a nominal fee from 48 automated docking stations. Smart card will be used to take a bicycle from a docking station. World Bank, Global Environmental Fund and state govt have jointly funded the initiative

NTPC installs electric charging stations

National Thermal Power Corporation Limited has facilitated the installation of charging stations for electric vehicles at Delhi and Noida. The main objective of setting up EV charging points is to promote clean energy transportation. The move will push demand for electric vehicles. India has an ambition to have all electric vehicles by 2030.

Goomo raises $50 million

Online travel and holiday booking platform Goomo has raised $50 million from Mauritius based equity firm Emerging India. The company will use the funds to build its online platform, products, marketing, and to establish its offline partner network. Goomo is being built as an omni-channel platform that will facilitate corporate and consumer travel bookings across online and offline channel.

5 Arab States Break Ties With Qatar

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. The countries have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region. The countries have also planned to break off all land, air and sea traffic with Qatar and eject its diplomats from their territories. Qatar was also expelled from a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

World Environment Day 2017

World Environment Day is observed on 5 June every year to raise global awareness worldwide for the protection of our environment and the planet Earth. World Environment Day was designated by the UN General Assembly in 1972. The theme for 2017 World Environment Day is ‘Connecting People to Nature’. This year’s host country Canada got to choose the theme.

Global economy to post solid growth

World Bank has said that the global economy is set to post solid growth this year, amid improving world trade and better performance by large emerging markets. Global economy is expected to grow by 2.7 percent for 2017, rising to 2.9 percent in 2018 and 2019. Emerging market and developing economies are expected to grow 4.1 percent. Russia and Brazil are expected to return to growth.

IFFCO gets a new vice-chairman

Vitthal Bhai Radadiya has been elected as the new Vice Chairman of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative. He is currently a director on IFFCO board and member of Parliament from Porbandar. He is also a social worker and a senior in cooperative business from Gujarat. IFFCO is India’s largest fertiliser cooperative.

Bhandarkar to get Bharat Gaurav Award

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar will be conferred with the Bharat Gaurav Award at the United Nations Hall, New York. He will be conferred with Bharat Gaurav Award along with spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Late Kalpana Chawla. He was also honoured with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India last year. Bharat Gaurav Awards are a set of awards given out by NRI community of USA.

New bridge constructed in record time

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a new bridge on Savitri River at Mahad in Maharashtra. The new bridge was constructed after the old British era bridge had collapsed last year due to heavy rains claiming 42 lives. The construction of the new bridge is completed in record 165 days. The new bridge is built at a cost of ₹35.77 crore, has lighting arrangement and flood alarm system.

BoB signs agreement with SFAC

Bank of Baroda has entered into a MoU with Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium. Under this MoU, Bank of Baroda would provide collateral free loans to Farmers Producer Companies. SFAC will provide credit guarantee cover up to 85 percent of the loan amount. SFAC is an autonomous society promoted by Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ welfare.

RBI initiates prompt corrective action

            RBI has initiated prompt corrective action for Dena Bank. It is being carried out because of high net non-performing assets and negative return on assets of Dena bank. Dena Bank is the 3rd bank after IDBI and UCO Bank where PCA has been initiated. RBI has mandated a max net NPA ratio of 6% under the PCA framework while Net NPA ratio of Dena Bank stood at 10.66% at the end of 4th quarter.

LIGO makes Gravitational Wave Detection

Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory detectors have detected another merger of 2 black holes. GW150914, is the 3rd confirmed detection of gravitational waves coming from a binary black hole merger. The detection has revealed not only a black hole merger, but also alignment of the spins of black holes. GW170104, GW151226 and GW150914 are the 3 confirmed detections by LIGO.

Railways to reduce emission by 33%

Indian Railways is going to reduce emission by 33% in the next 10-12 years. It aims to achieve this through sustained energy efficiency measures and and maximum use of clean fuel. State of the art energy efficient locomotives and regenerative braking system will reduce emission level considerably. Fitting bio toilets in coaches by 2019 is another green initiative of the Railways.

Vizianagaram bags MGNREGA National Award

Ministry of Rural Development has selected Vizianagaram for MGNREGA annual award for effective implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act during 2015-16. The district generated works for 3,61,668 households in 2015-16 and disbursed ₹483.42 crore as wages. Over 5,000 farm ponds, 240 rain water harvesting structures, and 440 water shed works were executed.

NSDC signs MoU with Bird Academy

National Skill Development Corporation has signed a MoU with Bird Academy for skilling of unemployed youth in aviation and aerospace sector. More than 30000 unemployed youth across various states and 5000 women and tribal youths from underprivileged sections of the society will be trained. The 2 organizations will work together to set up training centres and centre of excellence in India.

Tax rates on commodities under GST

The GST council has proposed 4 tax slabs at 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% under GST, Gold, silver and processed diamonds will be taxed at 3%. Readymade garments will be taxed at 12%, while apparel costing below Rs1000 will attract a tax of 5%. Yarn and fabric cotton will be under the 5% tax slab. Tax slab for footwear below Rs500 has been fixed at 5%, while expensive footwear will be taxed at 18%

6^th June 2017

India to grow at 7.2% in 2017

World Bank has projected 7.2% growth rate for India this year, against 6.8% growth in 2016. World Bank in its latest Global Economic Prospects, projects India’s growth to 7.5% in 2018 and 7.7% in 2019. A downgrade to India’s fast pace of expansion is mainly reflecting a softer-than-expected recovery in private investment. Growth projections for China remains unchanged at 6.5% for 2017.

India’s first ‘private’ railway station

Bhopal’s Habibganj station has become the first railway station of the country to be build in a Public-Private partnership. Station will be designed as a world-class transit hub with shopping complex, adequate parking lot and other facilities. Station will be powered by solar energy and will also be differently-abled friendly. Bansal Group will handle operations and maintenance for 8 years.

Deadline to probe corruption cases

Central govt has changed an over 50-year-old rule by setting a deadline of 6 months to complete probes in corruption cases involving government employees. The decision has been taken to speed up the investigation in such cases. DoPT has amended Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules and decided time-line for critical stages of investigation and enquiry proceedings.

ICICI commissionsed solar-powered ATMs

ICICI Bank commissioned over 200 solar powered ATM sites last year as part of its efforts to reduce carbon footprint and use more clean energy. Bank has reduced its energy consumption from 198 million units in 2013-14 to 164 million units in 2016-17. Bank has saved 34.2 million units in last 3 years. This is equivalent to amount of energy that can power 42,000 rural households for an year.

SBI to organise mega farmers’ meet

Ahead of kharif season, SBI will meet 10 lakh farmers to understand their credit need and provide finance. The meeting will be organised at bank’s 15500 rural and semi-urban branches across the country on June 8. During the meet, branches will receive applications for fresh loans as well as for renewal or enhancement of existing loan. Last year Agriculture sector witnessed a growth of 4.1%.

Rural LED Street Lighting Project

Central govt. through Energy Efficiency Services Ltd would be retrofitting 10 lakh conventional street lights with LED lights in Gram Panchayats of 7 districts in Andhra Pradesh. It is the 1st project for rural LED street lighting in the country under the Street Lighting National Project. The entire upfront capital cost of this project is being funded by Agence Française de Dévelopement.

Apple unveils new operating system

Apple has unveiled iOS 11, a new and advanced operating system for its devices. It features a “Do Not Disturb while Driving” mode that turns iPhone screens black and stops users from replying to messages. It includes a more helpful Siri, phone-to-phone payments within iMessage and a control centre that collates all functions in one place. It will be available in Autumn.

Nepal, China ink hydropower agreement

Nepal and China signed an agreement to develop a 1,200 megawatt hydropower project. It is the largest hydroelectric plant in Nepal. It is being developed by China’s Gezhouba Group Corporation and will cost around $2.5 billion. The deal has been signed without any bidding. This is the 2nd major hydro investment after China secured a deal early this year to develop a 750 MW project.

NSE launched in GIFT city

National Stock Exchange has launched its international exchange in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City. NSE IFSC Ltd is the global exchange which is promoted by NSE. It will remain operational for a longer period than NSE. All the trades will be cleared and settled through NSE IFSC Clearing Corporations. BSE has already operationalised its global exchange India International Exchange

Brand ambassador of Wildlife Trust

Actress Dia Mirza was appointed brand ambassador for the Wildlife Trust of India on World Environment Day. She has lent her support to wildlife conservation endeavors for several years and is now a founder-member of the organisation’s Club Nature initiative. Last year she was appointed brand ambassador for the Swachh Bharat Mission’s Swachh Saathi programme.

Women to man parking lots in Chandigarh

Chandigarh will become India’s first city to have only women manage all public parking lots under a ‘smart parking system. It is a joint initiative of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and Arya Toll Infra Limited. Women attendants will man all parking lots from 7.30 am to 9 pm before men will take over. Women bouncers will be deployed at each parking lot for their safety.

IMD to give malaria, chikungunya alerts

 India Meteorological Department is working on a forecasting system to give 15-day warnings on the likelihood of a malaria or chikungunya outbreak. This service is a part of a larger initiative by the department to provide custom, weather related information to cope with challenges of global warming. IMD has teamed up with Medical Council of India and Red Cross Society to offer the services.

Sachin Joins UN ‘Super Dads’ Campaign

Sachin Tendulkar joined Beckham, Jackman, Djokovic and Lewis Hamilton for UNICEF’s Super Dads campaign. Campaign highlights the significant role played by fathers in children’s early development.  Super Dads initiative forms part of UNICEF’s EarlyMomentsMatter campaign, which aims to drive understanding of how children’s environments and experiences in early childhood can shape their future.

TRAI launches three new apps

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has launched 3 new apps to help customers rate quality of services, speed and performance. The 3 new apps are Mycall app, MySpeed app and Do not disturb. The MyCall app is for crowdsourced voice call quality monitoring. My Speed app will enable TRAI to obtain test-data from users. DND service app will enable users to avoid unsolicited commercial calls.

India’s biodiversity riches

313 species of animal and 186 of plants have been discovered from various areas of the country last year. Most of the new species were from 4 biological hotspots of the country – Himalayas, the northeast, the Western Ghats and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Animal Discoveries 2016 said that for the first time, number of animal species in the country, including protozoa, has crossed 1 lakh.

Vijaya Bank to develop Digital Villages

Vijaya Bank is going to develop 100 digital villages in various States to promote digital banking among rural population. Bank would offer free Wi-Fi connectivity, mobile payment facilities, ATM cards, online banking and will carry out a door-to-door campaign to educate villagers. It is the only public sector financial institution to develop digital villages with focus on rural areas.

Ramkumar wins ITF Futures title

Indian tennis player Ramkumar Ramanathan lifted the ITF men’s Futures tennis title after outplaying Raymond Sarmiento. He outplayed Raymond Sarmiento 6-2, 6-2 in the finals. It was the first title of the season for Ramkumar and 15th of his career.

RBI kicks off financial literacy week

RBI is observing June 5-9, 2017 as Financial Literacy Week across the country. Themes selected for week are KYC, exercising credit discipline, grievance redress and going digital. It helps customer to be informed and make better financial decisions. RBI will be piloting an initiative where NGO will be collaborating with banks to extend outreach through innovative methods at block level.

TATA Projects to promote green cover

TATA Projects has launched Green Thumb, an initiative to enhance the green cover. Green Thumb 2017, is in continuation to TATA Projects’ previous year’s initiative wherein it aimed to get 10,000 people to click to plant a sapling on their behalf. At its headquarters in Hyderabad, TATA Projects distributed free saplings, while employees at over 100 sites planted saplings.

Telangana launches single woman pension

Telangana govt has launched single women pensions scheme across the state. Under this scheme, Telangana Govt. will provide Rs 1,000 financial assistance per month to single women. The beneficiaries would get the pension in their bank accounts every month. Officials have identified 1,08,302 beneficiaries in 31 districts. It will benefit unmarried women, joginis and divorced women.

7^th June 2017

RBI keeps repo rate unchanged

RBI kept repo rate unchanged at 6.25% during its bimonthly monetary policy review on June 7, 2017. This is 4th time in a row that repo rate has been kept unchanged. Cash Reserve Ratio has also been kept at current 4%, Statutory liquidity ratio was cut by 50 basis points to 20%. RBI’s target for inflation stands at 4%. RBI had changed its monetary policy to neutral from accommodative in Feb.

World’s First Hybrid Aeroboat

The world’s first hybrid “aeroboat” that has been built by an Indo-Russian joint venture was unveiled in Moscow. This Hybrid “aeroboat” is capable of travelling on land, water, snow and sand. The aeroboat is designed to access difficult terrain, such as flooded or marshy areas where the use of regular boats is made impossible. It has been designed by IIAAT Holding.

Deuba elected as the PM of Nepal.

Nepali Congress Chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba has been elected as the new Prime Minister of Nepal. This is the tenth time in just over a decade that the leadership has changed hands. This will be Deuba’s fourth stint as PM of Nepal. The post of Prime Minister fell vacant after Maoist leader Prachanda resigned in May under a power-sharing deal with the Nepali Congress leader.

Second most valuable pharma firm

Cadila Healthcare has become India’s 2nd most valuable pharmaceutical company in terms of market capitalisation beating Lupin. Its market cap stood at Rs55,000.57 crore It has also entered top 50 most-valued companies club in terms of market capitalisation. Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries continues to be the most valued pharma company in India with a market cap of Rs1.23 trillion.

MoU signed between CISF & NSDC

CISF in collaboration with National Skill Development Corporation will start training programme for security personnel retiring from the force to enhance their skill sets. A MoU was signed between CISF and NSDC towards this objective. Under the MoU, skill development centres will be set up focusing on sectors like handicrafts and apparel and industry related skills like mobile repairing.

Lost temple discovered after 1,000 years

Archaeologists have excavated a temple, Fugan temple in China’s Chengdu city around 1,000 years after it was deemed to have been lost. It lasted from Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 A.D.) to Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.) Archaeologists unearthed 1000+ tablets inscribed with Buddhist scriptures and over 500 pieces of stone sculpture as well as glazed tiles with inscriptions.

Winners of the Kalinga Literary Awards

Writer Anand Neelakantan, Poet Haraprasad Das and author Paramita Satpathy were announced winners of the Kalinga Literary Awards. Neelakantan was chosen for Kalinga International Literary Award, Haraprasad was chosen for Kalinga Literary Youth Award and Satpathy was chosen for Kalinga Karubaki Award. This is the fourth edition of Kalinga Literary Festival and will be held in Bhubaneswar

UN chief warns of clean water shortages

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that by 2050 global demand for fresh water is projected to grow by more than 40%. At least a quarter of the world’s population will live in countries with a chronic or recurrent lack of clean water. He also said that United Nations is ready to engage in preventive diplomacy to keep the competition for water from sparking conflicts.

NHB approves merger between AHF and DHFL

Merger between Aadhar Housing Finance and DHFL Vysya Housing Finance has finally got nod from housing finance regulator National Housing Bank. Both the companies are owned by Wadhawan Global Capital Pvt Ltd. Merged entity is proposed to be named as Aadhar Housing Finance and will be financing affordable housing. Aadhar Housing will merge into DHFL Vysya, making it a pan-India company.

Ministry of ‘Utmost Happiness’ launched

The much awaited second novel of Arundhati Roy “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” has been launched. Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a complex and a nonlinear narrative. The book is published in India by Penguin Random House. Arundhati Roy was the first Indian woman to win the prestigious Booker Prize with her 1997 work.

Planet Hotter Than Most Stars

Astronomers have discovered the hottest planet ever, having a dayside temp. of more than 4,300 degrees Celsius. The planet called KELT-9b, is hotter than most stars and is 2.8 times more massive than Jupiter. It takes 2 days to complete 1 orbit of the star, being so close means that it cannot exist for very long. It is a hybrid planet-star, has mass of Planet and an atmosphere like a star.

New Chief of Copyrights Office

Hoshiar Singh a 1994 batch officer of the Indian Telecom Service appointed as Registrar of Copyrights. He has been appointed for a period of 5 years as per the recent order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training. The Copyright Office is under the immediate control of a Registrar of Copyrights. The Office of Copyrights is mandated to protect the music and film industry.

Kerala Govt implements Green Protocol

Kerala govt. has come out with a green-protocol to make weddings more nature-friendly. With implementation of the protocol, plastic and other non-degradable articles including disposable glasses and plates will be kept at bay from marriage functions. Aim is to reduce use of plastic in daily life. It is being implemented in Kannur and will be implemented in rest of the districts soon.

Govt to appoint Nyaya Mitras

Union Government will appoint Nyaya Mitras across the country to expedite the cases pending for last 10 years in lower courts. Retired judges will be appointed as Nyaya Mitras to expedite the over seven lakh fifty thousand cases pending across the country. Their responsibilities would include offering assistance to litigants who are suffering due to delay in trial.

Skills for Life, Save a Life initiative

Health Minister J P Nadda has launched – Skill for Life, Save a Life initiative to promote skill development in the health sector. The initiative aims to upscale the quality and quantity of trained professionals in the healthcare system. Under this initiative various courses are planned in specific competencies for healthcare professionals as well as for general public.

$318 million credit to Sri Lanka

India has signed an agreement to provide assistance of 318 million US Dollar credit line to Sri Lanka. It is being provided for development of the railway sector in Sri Lanka. India has provided 4 lines of credit to Sri Lanka to develop its railway sector, amounting to USD 966 million. These credit have been used to improve southern and northern railway lines.

Loan Agreement with World Bank

India has signed a USD 39.2 million loan agreement with World Bank for the ‘Citizen Centric Service Delivery’ project in Assam. The project size is USD 49 million, of which USD 39.2 million will be financed by World Bank and the remaining amount will be funded out of the state budget. The objective of the project is to improve access in the delivery of selected public services in Assam.

SBI launches record share sale

State Bank of India has launched India’s largest institutional share sale programme. The bank aims to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore. With this issue size, SBI broke its own record of 2014 when it raised ₹8,032 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP). At the floor price of Rs 287.58, SBI will issue 521.6 million shares if the issue is fully subscribed.

Montenegro becomes NATO’s 29th member

Montenegro has formally become the 29th member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization. To get there, Montenegro has stood up against its ally Russia which has sought to maintain strong historic and political influence in the country. Russia has threatened economic and political retaliation including a campaign to undermine Montenegrin tourism industry which relies heavily on Russian visitors.

World’s Fastest Elevator

World’s fastest elevator is set to be installed in a skyscraper complex building in China. It is developed by Hitachi and runs at a speed of 1,200 metres per minute. It has various safety features including brake equipment using materials with outstanding heat resistance. Active guide rollers in the elevator absorbs vibration during high speed operation, making the ride comfortable.

8^th June 2017

Petrol prices to change daily

Public Sector OMCs have decided to start daily revision in RSP of Petrol and Diesel in the entire country with effect from 16th June, 2017. Daily price revisions of Petrol and Diesel will make retail prices more reflective of current market conditions. Now Companies won’t have wait for 15 days to adjust prices, instead they can change them everyday based on crude price movements.

India among top FDI destinations

According to the report of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development US, China and India are considered to be the most prospective destinations for foreign direct investment. FDI inflows to developing Asia shrank by 15% to 443 billion US dollars in 2016, the first decline since 2012. Flows to India were stagnant at 44 billion US Dollars. US remained the largest recipient of FDI.

India among top 5 consumer markets

According to BMI Research India is among top 5 consumer markets in Asia offering retailers strongest consumer spending growth of 6.1% over next 5 years. Report also said that India has a thriving e-commerce segment and online retail sales are expected to grow at double-digit rates. China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Indonesia are other countries offering retailer strong consumer spending growth.

4G Download Speed in India

According to OpenSignal avg. internet speed in India has been ranked at 74th place, below Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Avg. 4G download speed in India (5.1Mbps) is less than 1/3rd of the global avg. speed of 16.2 Mbps. Singapore scored highest in 4G speed while South Korea scored highest in 4G availability. Download speeds in India dropped as traffic has surged, due to Jio’s free services.

IIT-Delhi best ranked Indian institution

IIT Delhi has surpassed IISc Bangalore, to become the top-ranked Indian institute according to QS World University Rankings. IIT Delhi Ranked 172 while IIT Bombay and IISc Bangalore stood at 179 and 190 respectively. This is the first time in 14 years India has three institutes in the top 200 list. MIT topped the list for 6th consecutive year, followed by Stanford University.

NASA hires Raja Chari

NASA has chosen 12 new astronauts, including an Indian-American who will be trained for missions into Earth orbit and to deep space. Indian-orgin Lt. Col Raja Chari, a commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron is a part of the squad. He is the 3rd Indian-origin NASA astronaut after Sunita Williams and late Kalpana Chawla. This is the largest group NASA has selected in almost 2 decades.

War memorial inaugurated in Arunachal

General officer commanding of Gajraj Corps Lt General Amarjeet Singh Bedi inaugurated a war memorial at Thembang village in Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. The memorial has been constructed by the scout battalion of the Indian Army. It has been dedicated to the men of 5 Guards, who fought during the Indo-China war in Thembang village in 1962.

Pingali to get a planet named after her

Sahithi Pingali, a Class 12 student from Bengaluru, joins an elite league of people to have a minor planet named after them. She represented India and finished 2nd at ISEF following which MIT decided to name a planet after her. She presented a paper, based on her experiences after having developed an integrated mobile phone app and lake monitoring kit that obtains data through crowdsourcing.

MSDE skills 1.17 crore people

According to Rajiv Pratap Rudy (MoS for MSDE) more than 1.17 crore aspirants have been trained in various skills through MSDE schemes and programmes since the inception of Skill India. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana witnessed more than 26.5 lakh people getting trained in skills of their choice of which 50% are women candidates. 5.9 lakh youth engaged in Apprenticeship through NAPS.

National Human Milk Bank inaugurated

Health Secretary C K Mishra inaugurated Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh, a National Human Milk Bank and Lactation Counselling Centre at Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi. It will collect pasteurise, test and store milk donated by lactating mothers and make it available for infants in need. Vatsalya is established in collaboration with Norwegian government, Oslo University and NIPI.

Cabinet approves MoU b/w India and Korea

Union Cabinet has approved the proposed MoU between Export-Import Bank of India and Korea for export credit of USD 9 billion. It is aimed for infrastructural development in India and for supply of goods and services as part of projects in third countries. Export credit will be utilised through lending by EXIM Bank for promoting projects including smart cities and power generation in India.

Pitroda resigns as technical advisor

Prominent telecom engineer Sam Pitroda resigned as the technical advisor to the Odisha government. As a technical advisor to the government he was enjoying the status of a cabinet rank minister. However he did not avail any facilities and took a token salary of Re 1 a month. Pitroda’s resignation was demanded by opposition BJP after he was named as the chairman of AICC’s overseas cell.

Independent Directors of IPPB

K G Karmakar and Gauri Shankar have been appointed as the Independent Directors of India Post Payments Bank. Their appointment to the post on the board of directors of the bank is for a period of three years. The IPPB has been incorporated as a public sector bank under the Department of Posts with 100 per cent equity of the government of India.

First World Pest Day launched

The first World Pest Day was launched in Beijing,China. Its objective is to increase awareness of pest-borne diseases and safeguard public health through scientific and professional pest control methods. More than 30 national and international organisations have signed to support the initiative. The inaugural of World Pest Day was initiated by the Chinese Pest Control Association.

Kohli in list of highest paid athletes

Virat Kohli is the sole sportsperson from India to feature among the world’s 100 highest paid athletes in the latest Forbes list. Kohli has been ranked 89th on Forbes list of World’s highest paid athletes’ with a total pay of USD 22 million. Kohli earned USD 3 million from salary and winnings and 19 million from endorsements. Cristiano Ronaldo topped the list followed by LeBron and Messi.

HDFC Bank starts fees on UPI transaction

HDFC bank will start charging its customers for transactions made via the Unified Payments Interface from 10 July. Fees will be imposed on all outward UPI transactions. Transactions from Rs 1 to Rs 25,000 will be charged Rs 3 plus taxes while those above Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh will be charged Rs 5. These charges make small value payments over UPI more expensive than those on NEFT.

Chauhan appointed CEO of GeM

Radha Chauhan has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Government e- Marketplace (GeM). GeM is an online platform for central and state government departments for purchase of goods and services. Chauhan is a 1988 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, is at present President and CEO of National e-Governance Division under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

World’s most valuable club

Manchester United has been named the world’s most valuable football club by Forbes for the first time in five years. United replaced Real Madrid who led the way for the last four years. According to Forbes, United generated revenues of $765 million during the 2015-2016 season. United is also the most profitable team in the world with an operating income of $288 million.

World Oceans Day

World Oceans Day takes place every June 8 to remind everyone of the major role oceans have in everyday life. They are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe. World Oceans Day was officially recognized by UN in 2008. Oceans cover about two-thirds of surface of the Earth and are the very foundations of life. Theme for World Oceans Day 2017 is Our Oceans, Our Future.

Biodegradable prepaid gift cards

Axis Bank announced biodegradable prepaid gift cards on World Environment Day. The cards are made up of Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol. These cards have a large positive impact on the environment as they can be broke down safely and quickly into raw materials of nature and disappear into the environment. Axis Bank has become the first bank to introduce biodegradable cards in India.

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