Current Affairs Daily Updates: 15th June 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 15th June 2017
APPOINTMENTS
India appoints Envoys to Italy, Denmark, Belgium and EU
  • The Union Government appointed ambassadors to three European countries, Italy, Denmark and Belgium.
  • Gaitri Issar Kumar is a 1986-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, has been appointed as India’s next ambassador to Belgium.
  • Reenat Sandhu, a 1989-batch IFS officer, will head India’s diplomatic mission in Italy.
  • Ajit Vinayak Gupte from the 1991 batch, who is presently joint secretary in the ministry, has been appointed as ambassador to Denmark.
Neeru Chadha becomes first Indian woman judge on International sea law tribunal
  • Law expert Neeru Chadha elected as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS).
  • She won a nine-year term on the 21-member court that adjudicates disputes arising from the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and agreements between countries that give it jurisdiction.
  • Neeru is the second Indian woman to occupy a top position at the United Nations after Lakshmi Pandit who served as the President of the United Nations General Assembly.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Israeli Author David Grossman wins Man Booker International Prize
  • Israeli author David Grossman won the Man Booker International Prize for his novel "A Horse Walks Into a Bar".
  • David Grossman, the first Israeli author to win the Man Booker International Prize.
  • He will share the £50,000 ($64,000) award money with his translator Jessica Cohen.
  • Other important works of David Grossman includes The Yellow Wind, To the End of the Land.
  • His works have been translated into over 30 languages.
BANKING AFFAIRS
IDBI Bank only Private Sector Bank to get High rating for code compliance
  • According to the Code Compliance Rating of banks done by the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) 2017, only one (IDBI Bank) out of 26 public sector banks and eight out of 17 private sector banks got ‘high’ rating.
  • The eight private sector banks that got ‘high’ rating are Axis Bank, DCB Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank and YES Bank.
  • The three foreign banks are Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank.
Central Bank of India under RBI's corrective action lens
  • Public sector Central Bank of India has been placed under the RBI's watchlist on Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) owing to high bad loans and negative return on assets.
  • IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank and Dena Bank have already come under the PCA initiated by the Reserve Bank of India, which is a noose-tightening on fresh loan disbursal as well as dividend distribution.
  • PCA is a framework devised by RBI that monitors key areas like capital, asset quality and profitability of banks.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
IOC, BPCL, HPCL sign agreement to set World’s Largest Refinery
  • The Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum signed the joint venture agreement to jointly set up the world’s largest refinery and petrochemical complex in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.
  • Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will hold 50% stake and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) will each hold a stake of 25% each in the new complex.
  • The new complex will have a 60 million tons refining capacity.
  • The complex would come up at Babulwadi, Rajapur in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra located very close to the West coast.
Yes Bank partners with TerraPay for faster international remittance
  • Private sector lender Yes Bank has partnered with mobile payments switch TerraPay to enable real time money transfer to bank accounts in India.
  • Powered by TerraPay’s global clearing and settlement service, the partnership will make it faster and convenient for consumers to send money to any bank account.
  • This means that Indian migrants worldwide can walk into TerraPay’s partner outlet anytime and send money to their family and friends back home, instantly in their bank account.
  • India is the world’s largest recipient of remittances.
IRDAI takes over management of Sahara Life Insurance
  • The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has taken over the administration of Sahara India Life Insurance, a first of its kind move in the insurance sector.
  • It has named RK Sharma, General Manager, IRDAI, as administrator to manage the affairs of the insurer.
  • The current board of Sahara India Life is headed by Chairman OP Srivastava. Sanjay Agarwal is whole-time director and CEO.
  • Lucknow-based Sahara India Life Insurance was the first wholly Indian owned life insurance company in the private sector which launched its operations in 2004 with an initial paid-up capital of Rs 157 crore.
Google ranked as the world's most valuable brand in 2017
  • Technology giant Google has topped the 2017 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list, with a brand value of over $245 billion.
  • Further, US tech giants Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook were also among the five most valuable brands.
  • Notably, Amazon rose three places after achieving the highest dollar value growth, increasing by $40.3 billion to $139.3 billion.
IMPORTANT DAYS OBSERVED
June 14th: World Blood Donor Day
  • The World Blood Donar Day (WBDD) is observed on June 14 across the world every year.
  • The slogan of WBDD 2017 is What can you do? Give blood. Give now. Give often.
  • The objectives of this year’s campaign to encourage all people to strengthen the emergency preparedness of health services in their community by donating blood.
June 15th: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
  • The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) is commemorated on June 15 every year across the world.
  • The 2017 theme for the WEAAD is "Understand and End Financial Abuse of Older People: A Human Rights Issue".
  • It aims the importance of preventing financial exploitation in the context of elder abuse to the enjoyment of older persons human rights.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Emkay and DBS sign Agreement for Equity Research Distribution
  • Emkay Global Financial Services entered into an exclusive agreement with Development Bank of Singapore Limited (DBS) Bank and securities.
  • The agreement involves sharing of knowledge, co-branding of research and its distribution to the global clients of DBS Vickers.
Indian-origin Leo Varadkar becomes Ireland’s youngest Prime Minister
  • Leo Varadkar was elected Irish Prime Minister first Indian-origin premier.
  • He took over Enda Kenny, Former Prime Minister of Irish
  • Ireland became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through popular vote.
World Bank approves over $500 million for Afghanistan to boost economy
  • The World Bank approved financing worth more than 500 million dollars for Afghanistan to support a string of projects to boost the economy.
  • It helps improve service delivery in five cities and support Afghan refugees sent back from Pakistan.
  • Some 205.4 million dollars, will go toward supporting communities affected by refugees returning from Pakistan.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to introduce a Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill
  • The Union Cabinet approved the proposal to introduce a Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017.
  • This bill will provide a comprehensive resolution framework for financial sector entities to deal with bankruptcy situation in banks, insurance companies, and other entities.
  • The bill is proposed to strengthen and streamline the current framework of deposit insurance and to decrease the time and costs involved in resolving distressed financial entities.
Telangana Government Launches Online Cattle Market For Farmers 
  • The Telangana government launched the website to facilitate the buying and selling of cattle online.
  • The state said that the website –pashubazar.telangana.gov.in – would save the farmers transportation costs, as they need not keep taking them to markets.
  • The website also mentions that the limit for number of animals that can be registered for sale at one time is five.
Union Cabinet approves Interest Subvention on Short-Term Crop Loan to Farmers
  • The Union cabinet approved the Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) for farmers for the year 2017-18.
  • The Government has allocated Rs. 20,339 crore for this scheme.
  • The objective of the scheme is to make the available agricultural credit for Short Term crop loans at an affordable rate. The scheme is expected to boost agricultural productivity and production in the country.
  • The scheme will be continued for 1 year and will be implemented by Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) and National Bank For Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD).
Union Cabinet approves MoU between India and Palestine on agriculture cooperation
  • The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra approved to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture in the State of Palestine onagriculture cooperation.
  • The MoU provides for cooperation in the fields of agricultural research; veterinary field including capacity enhancement of Palestinian Veterinary services and Animal Health; irrigation and climate change.
  • The MoU was signed in May during the visit of the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs to India.
Haryana village to be named after Trump
  • Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak has announced that an open defecation-free village in Mewat will be named after U.S. President Donald Trump to build a good relationship between India and the United States.
  • According to Sulabh, the move will draw the attention of the world towards India's cleanliness campaign 'Swacch Bharat'.