Daily Current affairs - June 9th,10th and 11th, 2018 for all competitive exams
Ministry of Railways has
launched two mobile applications to ease the traveling experience.
- The two apps, 'Rail MADAD' and 'Menu on Rails', were
launched by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State (MoS)
Manoj Sinha during a press conference organized to highlight the
achievements of the Ministry in the last four years.
- Rail MADAD will enable travelers to lodge
complaints, Menu on Rails will facilitate seamless ordering of food.
The Minister stated
Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh has been created with a corpus of one lakh
crore rupees for making additional funds available for safety-related works.
|
Sanitation in Rural India rises to 85%
Sanitation coverage in rural India, under the Swachh Bharat Mission, has
now risen to 85%.
- As per the data released by Ministry of Drinking
Water and Sanitation, through mobilisation of rural communities, 7.4 crore
toilets were built across rural India, and as an outcome, over 3.8 lakh
villages and 391 districts were declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).
The Swachh Bharat Mission is the first sanitation programme in the
country to measure outcomes (ODF) instead of output (toilets) alone. The aim
of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) is to achieve a clean and Open Defecation
Free (ODF) India by 2nd October, 2019.
|
Met dept to use flash
flood guidance system for first time to forecast floods
India Meteorological
Department will use flash flood guidance system (FFGS) for the first time in
the country to forecast floods. Currently, the Central Water Commission issues
flood warnings.
- The national weather agency is preparing to launch
this service from the next month. Different kinds of soil from various
parts of the country have been studied to find out how absorbent each
variety was.
The FFGS is a robust
system designed to provide the necessary products to support the development
of warnings for flash floods from rainfall events through the use of remote
sensed precipitation (e.g., radar and satellite-based rainfall estimates) and
hydrological models.
|
KLIP receives approval of
Technical Advisory Committee
Kaleshwaram Lift
Irrigation Project (KLIP) in Telangana has received the approval of Technical
Advisory Committee of the Union govt in Delhi.
- The expected cost of project is Rs 80,000 crore.
- The Kaleshwaram project, which is the biggest lift
irrigation project in the country, has provision for the storage of about
148 tmc ft with plans of utilising 180 tmc ft by lifting at least 2 tmc ft
water every day for 90 flood days.
Andhra Pradesh is the
first state to use auto-disable syringes
The medical device sector
has hailed Andhra Pradesh’s move to to use auto-disable syringes for all
clinical purposes from World Hepatitis Day on July 28 to prevent infection.
- Andhra Pradesh would be the first state in the
country to take this move, which will be enforced from the World Hepatitis
Day
Deocha-Pachami coal block handed over to West
Bengal
The Centre has handed over the Deocha-Pachami coal mines to the West Bengal
government. It is said to be second largest coal block in the world with
estimated reserves of 2.1 billion tonnes.
- The coal block is located in Birbhum district in
West Bengal.
Power to auction non- coal mines: As per the new mining law — the Mines
and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015 — which came
into effect from January 2015, the non-coal mines have to be auctioned by the
respective state governments.
|
India is the second
highest sender of foreign students in US
With 1,86,000 Indian
students currently studying in the United States, India is the second highest
sender of foreign students to the US, next only to China.
- US consul general in Kolkata, Craig Hall, stated
that the United States is the top destination for foreign students
worldwide and the number of Indian students in the US has more than
doubled in the last 10 years.
WHO commends India for
reducing maternal mortality ratio by 77%
WHO has commended India's
progress in reducing the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by 77 percent, from 556
per one lac live births in 1990 to 130 per one lac live births in 2016.
- This progress puts the country on track towards
achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target of an MMR below 70 by
2030. India's present MMR is below the Millennium Development Goal target.
According to WHO Regional
Director for South-East Asia, Poonam Khetrapal, India has made a concerted
push to increase access to quality maternal health services with the coverage
of essential maternal health services has doubled since 2005.
|
India, China sign 2
agreements on Brahmaputra water data sharing & Non-basmati rice export
India and China signed two
bilateral agreements following the meeting between the Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit.
- The agreements include continuing to share
Brahmaputra water data during flood season and exporting non-Basmati rice
to China.
- The two countries have set a trade target of 100
billion dollars by 2020.
UN Security Council
The UN General Assembly has elected Belgium, the Dominican Republic,
Germany, Indonesia and South Africa to serve as non-permanent members on the
Security Council for two years starting in January.
- The five new members will replace Bolivia, Ethiopia,
Kazakhstan, the Netherlands and Sweden on the council.
- There are 15 members on the UN Security Council,
including the five permanent ones — Britain, China, France, Russia and the
United States — and 10 non-permanent members, half of which are elected
each year. Each candidate country needed to secure two thirds of the votes
in order to clinch a seat.
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the organs of the United
Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and
security. Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations,
the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of
military action through Security Council resolutions; it is the only UN body
with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.
|
U.K. women celebrate 100 years of voting rights
June 10, 2018 marked 100 years since the first women won the right to vote
in Britain.
- The Representation of the People Act, 1918 granted
property-owning British women over age 30 the right to vote.
Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of
Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and
Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the
franchise (the right to vote) to all men over 21, whether or not they owned
property, and to women over 30 who owned property with a rateable value above
£5, or whose husbands did.
|
Fuego volcano erupts
The Fuego volcano, in
Guatemala, has recently erupted violently and buried several villages on its
southern flank.
- It is an active stratovolcano. The death toll has
risen to 99 in the Fuego volcano eruption.
A stratovolcano, also
known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers of
hardened lava, tephra, pumice and ash.
|
ISRO scientists spotted EPIC planet
Scientists from ISRO have spotted for the first time a distant planet six
times bigger than Earth and revolving around a Sun-like star about 600 light
years away.
The planet has been named EPIC 211945201b (or K2-236b). The host star is
named EPIC 211945201 or K2-236.
- The planet is smaller in size than Saturn and bigger
than Neptune. Its mass is about 27 times Earth’s and six times that of
Earth at radius. The scientists estimate that over 60% of its mass could
be made up of heavy elements like ice, silicates and iron.
- With this discovery India has joined a handful of
countries which have discovered planets around stars.
- The discovery was made using a PRL-designed
spectrograph, PARAS, to measure and confirm the mass of the new planet.
PARAS is an echelle spectrograph (with resolution of 60,000) designed and
developed by the members of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Division of PRL.
The primary aim of PARAS is to search for planets around a sample of 100s of
Dwarf main-sequence G,K,M type stars within a volume of 100pc using the
Simultaneous ThAr calibration technique. It has wavelength coverage of 400nm
to 680nm.
|
Scientists found Uranium contamination in ground
water
Scientists have found widespread uranium contamination in groundwater from
aquifers across 16 states in India, much above the WHO provisional standard for
the country.
- The main source of uranium contamination was
“natural,” but human factors such as groundwater table decline and nitrate
pollution could be worsening the problem.
The WHO has set a provisional safe drinking water standard of 30
micrograms of uranium per litre, a level that is consistent with the U.S. EPA
standards. However, uranium is not yet included in the list of contaminants
monitored under the Bureau of Indian Standards’ Drinking Water
Specifications.
|
IndusInd Bank gets RBI nod for setting up
arm for BFIL merger
RBI has allowed IndusInd
Bank to incorporate a wholly-owned subsidiary for the amalgamation of
micro-lender Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL) with the bank.
- The bank and BFIL had earlier said that they had got
approval from stock exchanges for their proposed merger, paving way to
file the draft scheme of amalgamation.
- The bank had received RBI’s no-objection to the
proposed merger in March.
RBI amends Gold
Monetisation Scheme to make it more attractive
RBI has made changes in
the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) to make it more attractive. The
revamping of the scheme is aimed at enabling people to open a hassle-free gold
deposit account.
- The short-term deposits should be treated as bank’s
on-balance sheet liability. These deposits will be made with the
designated banks for a short period of 1-3 years (with a facility of
rollover). Deposits can also be allowed for broken periods (e.g.
1 year 3 months; 2 years 4 months 5 days; etc.).
Sunil Mehta will be
heading the ARC panel for stressed assets
The finance ministry has
set up a committee to examine the possibility of setting up an asset
reconstruction company or an asset management company to fast track resolution
of stressed assets.
- Punjab National Bank’s non executive chairman Sunil
Mehta will be heading the panel. Bank of Baroda’s MD and CEO P.S.
Jayakumar will be one of the members and another member would be nominated
from State Bank of India. The committee will submit its report in two
weeks.
44th G7 summit held at Canada
44th annual G7 Summit is being held in Quebec, Canada.
- G7 Summit is an event conducted annually where world
leaders from seven powerful economies of the world, US, Canada, UK,
France, Germany, Japan and Italy come together to discuss burning issues
happening around the globe.
- They, by mutual understanding, also form policies or
figure out remedies for the concerned issue.
Every year few international issues which need to be tackled are taken into
account and policies are formed around them. Canada has put forward the
following 5 themes for this year’s summit:
1. Investing in growth that works for everyone.
2. Preparing for jobs of the future.
3. Working together on climate change, oceans and clean
energy.
4. Building a more peaceful and secure world.
5. Advancing gender equality and impacting women’s
empowerment.
Arvind Saxena appointed acting UPSC chief
UPSC member Arvind Saxena
has been appointed as the acting chairman of the commission from June 20
- Saxena, a 1978-batch Indian Postal Service officer,
will take over the charge from incumbent Vinay Mittal who completes his
term at the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on June 19.
Government appoints S Ramesh as Chairman of
CBIC
The Appointments Committee
of Cabinet (ACC) has appointed S Ramesh as the Chairman of Central Board of
Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
- He will succeed present chairman Vanaja N. Sarna who
retires in Jun 2018.
Sharad Kumar appointed as Vigilance commissioner
Former NIA chief Sharad Kumar is the new vigilance commissioner for a term
of four years or till he attains the age of 65.
- CVC is the
apex vigilance institution. It was created via executive resolution (based
on the recommendations of Santhanam
committee) in 1964 but was conferred with statutory status in 2003. It
submits its report to the President of India.
- Presently, the body consists of central vigilance
commissioner along with 2 vigilance commissioners.
China awards its first highest state honour
to Russian President Vladimir Putin
China has awarded its
first highest state honour Friendship Medal to Russian President Vladimir
Putin.
- The award has been personally bestowed on Vladimir
Putin by Chinese President Xi Jinping in grand ceremony held at Great
Hall of the People in capital city of Beijing.
Kamila Shamsie’s “Home Fire” wins 2018
Women’s Prize for Fiction
Renowned British Pakistani
author Kamila Shamsie’s book “Home Fire” has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction,
2018.
- The book, was also in the race for last year’s Man
Booker Prize, is a contemporary reimagination of Sophocles’ “Antigone”.
Women’s Prize for
Fiction – previously known as the Baileys Prize for Fiction until 2016 and
the Orange Prize for Fiction between 1996 and 2012 – celebrates excellence,
originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world.
The winner receives a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze known
as a ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven. Both are
anonymously endowed.
|
Anupam Kher to receive
outstanding achievement award at IIFA 2018
Veteran actor Anupam Kher
will be given the prestigious Outstanding Achievement honour at the upcoming
International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony in Bangkok.
- The 63-year-old actor, who has worked in over 500
films spanning across languages along with projects both in India and
abroad for over three decades, will be honoured for his contribution in
the field of cinema.
- Kher will be presented with the honour on June 24 at
the 19th edition of IIFA.
Rasaraj Narayan Prasad
Singh passed away
Odisha's most popular
lyricist, Narayan Prasad Singh was popularly known as 'Rasaraj' passed away at
his residence in Bhubaneswar. Singh was 86.
- Born on May 28th, 1933 at Koeli village, Singh
earned his name in the world of Odia music. He was the lyricist of several
popular melodious songs in Odia cinema.
India suffered a three-wicket defeat
against Bangladesh in the final of the women’s Asia Cup T20
Six-time defending
champion India suffered a three-wicket defeat against Bangladesh in the final
of the women’s Asia Cup T20 cricket tournament at the Kinrara Academy Oval.
- ACC Women's Asia Cup is an international One Day
International and Twenty20 International cricket tournament contested by
women's cricket teams from Asia. It has been played seven times to date.
French Open 2018: Halep
beats Stephens to win maiden Grand slam title
World number one Simona
Halep has won her first Grand Slam title with a gutsy comeback victory over
American 10th seed Sloane Stephens in the French Open final.
- Halep, who had lost her three previous major finals,
went a set and a breakdown at Roland Garros.
- Halep became the second Romanian woman to win a
Grand Slam singles trophy after Virginia Ruzici.
French Open 2018: Rafael
Nadal beats Dominic Thiem to win 11th title
World number one Rafael
Nadal won an 11th French Open title by beating Austrian Dominic Thiem in
straight sets.
- Nadal, 32, won 6-4 6-3 6-2 to earn his 17th Grand
Slam, three adrift of Roger Federer's all-time men's record.
- The year 2005 holds great significance in French
Open history. It was the year a muscular teenager by the name of Rafael
Nadal first took to the clay courts of Paris and left it with a first
Grand Slam title.
World records ODI score by
NZ women
New Zealand women’s
cricket team posted the highest ever total in one-day cricket — an incredible
490 for four against Ireland in the first ODI in Dublin with skipper Suzie
Bates leading from the front with a blistering 151-run knock.
India beat Kenya to lift
Intercontinental cup Football title
India has lifted the
Intercontinental Cup football title. In the summit clash in Mumbai, they
defeated Kenya 2-nil. Both the goals were netted by skipper Sunil Chhetri.
- Sunil Chhetri has become the joint second highest
international goal scorer among active players along with Argentine
superstar Lionel Messi with his 64th strike for the country against
Kenya.
