Daily Current affairs - June 19th and 20th, 2018 for all competitive exams
On World Refugee Day is held every year
on 20th June to commemorate the strength, courage and perseverance of
millions of refugees.
- The
theme for World Refugee Day 2018 is ‘Now More Than Ever, We Need to
Stand with Refugees’.
- This
year, World Refugee Day also marks a key moment for the public to show
support for families forced to flee.
On 4 December 2000, the United Nations General
Assembly in Resolution 55/76 decided that, from 2000, 17 June would be
celebrated as World Refugee Day. In this resolution, the General Assembly
noted that 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating
to the Status of Refugees
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International decade for action: Water for sustainable development,
2018-2028
Republic
of Tajikistan and United Nations are jointly
organizing a high-level Conference on “International Decade for Action: Water
for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028”.
- The
Conference will discuss key water related issues of sustainable
development goals adopted by UN member countries.
In order to
accelerate efforts towards meeting water-related challenges, the United
Nations General Assembly declared 2018-2028 as the International Decade for
Action “Water for Sustainable Development”.
The Water Action Decade commenced on World Water Day, 22 March 2018, and will end on World Water Day, 22 March 2028.
The
objectives of the Decade focus on the sustainable development and integrated
management of water resources for the achievement of social, economic and
environmental objectives and on the implementation and promotion of related
programmes and projects.
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Indian army observes 2018 as Year of Disabled Soldiers
To honour
soldiers who have been disabled in line of duty, while serving the Nation and
to celebrate the undying spirit of ‘Soldiering’, Indian Army is observing the
year 2018 as the ‘Year of Disabled Soldiers in Line of Duty’.
- The
primary focus is towards alleviating the sufferings of these soldiers, who
have done their duty with utmost dedication to the Nation and have been
disabled for the life.
- The
endeavour this year is to provide a onetime financial assistance to
disabled soldiers who have been boarded out from service on medical
grounds and are rendered non-employable due to their medical or physical
conditions.
Center setup biggest National Data Centre in Bhopal
The Centre
will set up the country’s biggest data centre in Bhopal with a capacity to host five lakh virtual servers.
- It
will be set up by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), under the
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
- This
will be the fifth National Data Centre after the ones at
Bhubaneswar, Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune.
NIC, under the Department of Information Technology of the Government
of India, is a premier Science and Technology Organization, at the forefront of the active promotion and implementation of
Information and Communication Technology(ICT) solutions in the government.
The NIC is a part of the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology’s Department of Electronics & Information Technology.
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Health Minister launched National health
resource repository
Union Health Minister JP Nadda launched
the National Health Resource Repository (NHRR) - the country's
first-ever national healthcare registry of authentic, standardised and updated
geo-spatial data of all public and private healthcare establishments.
- The
vision of NHRR project is to strengthen evidence-based decision making and
develop a platform for citizen and provider-centric services by creating a
robust, standardised and secured IT-enabled repository of India's
healthcare resources.
Union government planning to expand BPO promotion scheme
Union
government is planning to expand its BPO promotion scheme under the Digital
India initiative. The government has proposed to more than double the number of
seats under the scheme.
- The
India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS), envisaged under Digital India
Programme, seeks to incentivize establishment of 48,300 seats in respect
of BPO/ITES operations across the country.
- It
is distributed among each State in proportion of State’s population with
an outlay of Rs. 493 Crore. This would help in capacity building in
smaller cities in terms of infra & manpower and would become basis for
next wave of IT/ITES led growth.
- This
scheme has potential to create employment opportunities of around 1.5 lakh
direct jobs considering three shift operations. It may also create good
number of indirect jobs.
Shillong gets selected as the 100th Smart city
Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya has
been selected as 100th Smart City after evaluating the proposal
submitted by it.
- Till
now, 99 smart cities had been selected in four rounds of competition and
with this announcement, selection of 100 cities has been completed
under the Smart Cities Mission.
- Previously,
20 cities were selected in January 2016, 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities
in September 2016, 30 cities in June 2017 and 9 cities in January 2018.
- With
the selection of Shillong, the total proposed investment in the
finally selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission would be
Rs.2,05,018 crores.
HRD minister Prakash Javadekar launched
National Digital Library of India
Human Resources Development Minister Prakash
Javadekar launched the National Digital Library of India
(NDLI). The library will become a single window platform for all
educational needs.
- Users
can register for free on the National Digital Library from Google Play
store. The library can be accessed at ndl.iitkgp.ac.in. The
library is an integrated platform for schools, colleges, universities,
teachers, and students.
National
Digital Library of India (NDLI) is a project of the Ministry of Human
Resource Development under the aegis of National Mission on Education through
Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT). It is developed by IIT
Kharagpur. The objective of NDL is to make digital educational resources
available to all citizens of the country to empower, inspire and encourage
learning. NDL is the Single Window Platform that collects and collates
metadata from premier learning institutions in India and abroad, as well as
other relevant sources. It is a digital repository containing textbooks, articles,
videos, audio books, lectures, simulations, fiction and all other kinds of
learning media. It makes quality learning resources available to all learners
and has 1.7 Crore content from more than 160 sources, in over 200 languages.
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The National
Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
has been envisaged as a
Centrally Sponsored Scheme to leverage the
potential of ICT, in teaching and learning process for the benefit of all the
learners in Higher Education Institutions in any time anywhere mode.
The Mission has two major components – providing
connectivity, along with provision for access devices, to institutions and
learners; and content generation.
The Mission aims to extend computer infrastructure and
connectivity to over 25000 colleges and 2000 polytechnics in the country
including each of the departments of 419 universities/deemed universities and
institutions of national importance as a part of its motto to provide
connectivity up to last mile.
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Union Government collaborates with Google for
flood forecasting
Central Water Commission (CWC), India’s apex
technical organisation in the field of Water Resources has signed
a Collaboration Agreement with Google for flood forecasting.
- According
to the Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and
Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari, the collaboration with Google will help
in effective flood management in India. Using its
high-resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Google would help
to generate flood inundation maps with the forecast inputs of CWC.
- This
initiative is likely to help crisis management agencies to deal extreme
hydrological events in a better manner.
Under
this Agreement, CWC and Google will share
technical expertise in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning,
geospatial mapping and analysis of hydrological observation data to collaborate
on:
1. Improving
flood prediction systems, which will help provide location-targeted, actionable
flood warnings.
2. High
priority research project utilizing Google Earth Engine to help visualize and improve
flood management
3. A
cultural project to build online exhibitions on the Rivers of India
Central
Water Commission is a premier Technical Organization of India in the field of
Water Resources and is presently functioning as an attached office of
the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation, Government of India.
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Visva-Bharati university to set up yoga village
Visva-Bharati University (VBU), founded by
Rabindranath Tagore, will set up a yoga centre inside the campus, named yoga
gram (village).
- The
centre is aimed at increasing awareness about yoga.
- The
campus at Santiniketan will have several single-storied buildings, termed
as kuthis (cottages) dedicated to different techniques of yoga. The
cottages will be built inside a mango grove.
Telangana Police launched 'Cop Connect' app
Telangana police have launched
a mobile-based messenger application named 'Cop Connect' dedicated
to provide real-time information to over 60,000 police officers
across the State.
- It
has been developed on the lines of WhatsApp. Police have developed this
app keeping in view the safety of their information besides having hassle
free communication.
- The
app is a secure communication channel, with no limit on the number of
members in any individual group (unlike the regular WhatsApp which has a
restriction of 256 numbers) and has all the features of WhatsApp.
- COP
Connect’s has end-to-end encryption with server being with Police
Department and it ensures absolute security and confidentiality of
internal police communication.
Punjab government launched Mobile App-
'i-Hariyali'
The Punjab Government has launched a
mobile application named ‘i-Hariyali’ aimed at increasing the state's
green cover.
- The
mobile application would enable the users to order free plant saplings.
- The 'i-Hariyali'
app, under ‘Mission Tandarust Punjab’ can be downloaded from the app
store for free.
Governor’s rule in J&K
The state of
Jammu and Kashmir is all set to see a governor’s rule following the sudden
break in ties between BJP and PDP and subsequent resignation of chief minister
Mehbooba Mufti.
- The
imposition of governor’s rule in J&K is slightly different than that in
other states.
In other states, the president’s rule is imposed under the Article 356
of Constitution of India. In J&K, governor’s rule is mentioned under
Article 370 section 92 – ‘ Provisions in case of failure of
constitutional machinery in the State.’
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U.P. govt special exemption to Patanjali
Uttar Pradesh government gave its nod to yoga
guru-turned-entrepreneur Baba Ramdev’s company to transfer land to its
subsidiary for setting up a multi-crore mega food park in Noida.
- The
Patanjali Food and Herbal Park would avail the special exemption of
‘sublease facility’ of land and a discount of 25% in the existing rate of
land allotment.
India, Italy agree to revitalize bilateral ties
India and Italy agreed to boost cooperation in
counter-terrorism and cyber security as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj
met the top Italian leadership and discussed steps to revitalize bilateral
ties.
- In
her first engagement of the day, Ms. Swaraj called on Italian Prime
Minister Giuseppe Conte and their discussions focused on forging bilateral
cooperation across sectors, said a statement issued by the External
Affairs Ministry.
US withdraws from UN Human Rights Council
Nikki Haley, the US Permanent Representative to
the United Nations announced the withdrawal of the United States from
the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), accusing the council of
bias against US ally Israel.
- The
US withdrawal from the council marks the first time that a member has
voluntarily left the UNHRC. A sitting member of the Council has never
dropped out in its 12-year history, though Libya was thrown out after a
vote from the General Assembly in 2011.
United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is
a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights
around the world. The UNHRC has 47 members elected for staggered three-year
terms on a regional group basis. The current three-week session of the UNHRC
began June 18, 2018. The headquarters of UNHRC is in Geneva, Switzerland.
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World's most powerful supercomputer 'Summit'
unveiled by US
US scientists have unveiled the world's most
powerful and smartest scientific supercomputer named 'Summit' that can
complete over 200,000 trillion calculations per second - providing
unprecedented computing power for research in energy, advanced materials and
artificial intelligence (AI).
- US
Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
supercomputer called Summit will be eight times more powerful than
its previous top-ranked system, Titan.
Indian Coast guard ship ‘Rani Rashmoni’
commissioned in Port City
Indian Coast Guard (ICG) commissioned fast
patrol vessel (FPV) ICGS “Rani Rashmoni”, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
- It
is the fifth and last ship to be commissioned in the series of fast
patrol vessel (FPV) project of ICG.
- The
ship will be based at Visakhapatnam under the administrative and
operational control of Commander, No.6 Coast Guard District Headquarters
(Andhra Pradesh).
SAARC development fund to launch SEDP
SAARC Development Fund will launch the Social
Enterprise Development Programme (SEDP) as part of its social window.
- SEDP
will be implemented in all SAARC member states with an objective of
identifying and building social enterprises by using mix of grants and
concessional returnable capital.
- It
intends to fund around 80 enterprises across the 8 SAARC member states
(Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka) annually.
RBI alters ‘Relative’ definition to check
outward remittances
Concerned over funds sent abroad under
the ‘maintenance of close relative’ category of the Liberalised
Remittance Scheme (LRS), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has narrowed
the definition of relatives to check the flow of funds.
- Hence,
funds under the ‘maintenance of close relative’ category can be sent only
to immediate relatives such as parents, spouses, children and their
spouses.
- This
has brought about by defining ‘relatives’ under the Companies Act, 2013
instead of the same act of 1956.
RBI has
aligned the definition of ‘relative’ with the definition given in Companies
Act, 2013 instead of Companies Act, 1956. Hence, funds under the ‘maintenance
of close relative’ category can be sent only to immediate relatives such as
parents, spouses, children and their spouses.
Under LRS,
all resident individuals can freely remit $250,000 overseas every financial
year for a permissible set of current or capital account transactions.
Permitted: Remittances are permitted for overseas
education, travel, medical treatment and purchase of shares and property,
apart from maintenance of relatives living abroad, gifting and donations.
Individuals can also open, maintain and hold foreign currency accounts with
overseas banks for carrying out transactions.
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Yes Bank gets SEBI nod for custodian of
securities business
Yes Bank has received approval from market
regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for acting as custodian
of securities.
- Custodian
of securities is a licence granted by SEBI to eligible entities allowing
them to offer custodial services to financial market participants
including foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and foreign portfolio
investors (FPIs).
- This
will complement the bank’s existing capital market offerings and enable it
to play a larger role in channelising domestic and foreign
investments into Indian financial market.
- The
bank has leveraged its global reach through its international banking
team, IFSC banking unit in GIFT City and its representative office in Abu
Dhabi as a part of its strategy.
Oriental Bank of Commerce awarded for Atal
Pension Yojana
Oriental Bank of Commerce has been awarded as
the best public sector bank for Atal Pension Yojana for the year 2017-18.
- MoS
for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla presented the awarded to Mukesh Kumar Jain,
MD and CEO of the bank.
IRDAI sets up panel to review norms for
marketing firms
IRDAI has formed a panel to review the
regulations pertaining to insurance marketing firms.
- The
committee is headed by Suresh Mathur, Executive Director
(insurance marketing firms), IRDAI, with nine more members.
- The
new distribution channel of insurance marketing firms was introduced
in 2015 by IRDAI, with the objective of increasing insurance
penetration in the country through an area-wise registration approach. The
channel has now been in operation for three years.
7th OPEC international Seminar held in Austria
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) will host the 7th OPEC International Seminar at the
Imperial Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, on 20−21 June 2018.
- Theme: Petroleum
– cooperation for a sustainable future
5th National Standards Conclave held in New
Delhi
The 5th National Standards Conclave-
Implementing the Indian National Strategy for Standardization was held in
New Delhi. It was organized by Department of Commerce and Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII).
- Two
reports were also released by Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and
Industry, Indian National Strategy for Standardization
(INSS) and CII-ASL Study on TBT/SPS Notifications.
Inter-Governmental ministerial meeting on
Anti-Doping held in Colombo
15th annual Asia and Oceania Region
Inter-Governmental Ministerial meeting on anti-doping was held
in Colombo with representatives from 29 countries including India.
- The
15th such annual gathering was attended by the World Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA) to discuss important anti-doping issues that would help
in the fight for clean sport.
- The
two-day meeting discussed how to make the most of government engagement,
ensure compliance with the world anti-doping code, support capacity
building and a range of other topics.
3-day National Yoga Olympiad 2018 begins in New
Delhi
3-day National Yoga Olympiad was inaugurated
at the National Council of Educational Research and Training
(NCERT) in CIET in New Delhi by Mr. Eric Falt, Director and
UNESCO Representative of the New Delhi Cluster Office for India, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
- This
is the third consecutive year of National Yoga Olympiad of NCERT and this
year about 500 students from 26 States are participating in the Olympiad.
- Two
books – Joy of Theatre and Sangeet training packages
were released on the occasion.
ICICI bank names Sandeep Bakhshi as COO
ICICI Bank board has appointed ICICI
Prudential Life Insurance CEO Sandeep Bakhshi as whole-time director
and chief operating officer (COO), creating a new top position at India’s second
largest private bank, to steer all its businesses.
- Chanda
Kochhar, ICICI Bank’s managing director and CEO will remain on leave until
a committee investigating allegations of impropriety completes its work.
- Mr Bakhshi
will continue as non-executive director of ICICI Prudential Life
Insurance. N.S. Kannan has been appointed as CEO of ICICI Prudential
Life Insurance for five years.
Jammu & Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti resigns
Jammu & Kashmir's Chief Minister Mehbooba
Mufti submitted her resignation to the Governor after BJP announced
to pull out of an alliance with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
- The
reason for the pullout was failure to control the situation in
the state and meet its promises. BJP's General Secretary Ram Madhav also
called for Governor's rule in Jammu & Kashmir.
Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian
resigns
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said Arvind
Subramanian, the Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, would
return to US in October.
- Mr
Subramanian, 59, a senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for
International Economics, became Chief Economic Adviser on October 16, 2014
for a period of three years, which was extended. He took over the job when
his predecessor Raghuram Rajan moved on to become RBI governor.
Sikkim govt announces A.R. Rahman as its Brand
Ambassador
Renowned music composer A.R. Rahman has been
appointed as the Brand Ambassador of the Sikkim government.
- Mr.
Rahman will promote and protect the state’s achievements nationally and
globally.
Anukreethy Vas crowned Femina Miss India 2018
Anukreethy Vas, a 19-year-old Tamil Nadu college
student, has been crowned Femina Miss India 2018 in a grand
ceremony in Mumbai hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Ayushmann Kurrana.
- Anukreethy
Vas had beaten 30 contestants to bag the top honour in front of a judges
panel that included Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar.
- Meenakshi
Chaudhary from Haryana was the first runner-up while Shreya Rao Kamavarapu
from Andhra Pradesh secured the second runner-up position.
Uber names Pradeep Parameswaran as India &
South Asia President
S.-based cab aggregator Uber said it had
elevated Pradeep Parameswaran as president of its India and South Asia
operations.
- He
succeeds Amit Jain, who was elevated to the role of Head of Asia Pacific
region last month.
- Mr.
Parameswaran had joined Uber in January, 2017, and was leading operations
for Uber in India and South Asia.
Vice President receives the book ‘Vedvigyan
Alok’
The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu
has received the book "Vedvigyan Alok" (Maharishi Aitareya
Mahidas Praneet - Aitareya Brahmina ki Vaigyanik
Vyakhya) authored by Acharya Agnivarat Naishthik.
- The
book is divided into four broad volumes. The Book Vedvigyan Alok is the
scriptural verse in Vedas' prose.
“The Ivory Throne : Chronicles of the House of
Travancore” book launched
The book “The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the
House of Travancore” authored by Manu S. Pillai has been launched.
- The
book is a critically acclaimed 700-page history of Kerala focused on the
last woman Maharajah of Travancore.
Legendary mimicry artiste Nerella Venumadhav
passes away
Noted mimicry artiste Nerella Venumadhav had
passed away after a brief illness in Warangal city. He was 85.
- Venumadhav
served as MLC in 1971 in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
- He
rose to international fame after his enthralling performance at the United
Nations. He has conferred scores of awards, including the Padma Shri
in 2001.
England goes ballistic, posts record 481
England broke its own all-time record for the
highest total scored in a men’s ODI when it posted 481 for six against
Australia.
- When
Alex Hales (147) hoisted Jhye Richardson for six in the 46th over, it
meant England had broken its own world record total — also set at this
venue — of 444 for three against Pakistan in 2016.
