Current Affairs Daily Updates: 6th June 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 6th June 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Sharad Jain new DG NWDA
  • Dr. Sharad Kumar Jain has assumed the additional charge of Director General, National Water Development Agency (NWDA) under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
  • Shri Jain is presently working as Scientist G with National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee.
  • Shri Jain succeeds Shri S. Masood Husain who has moved over as Member (WP&P), Central Water Commission.
BANKING AFFAIRS
ICICI Bank commissions 200 solar-powered ATMs
  • ICICI Bank commissioned over 200 solar powered ATM sites in the last one year as part of its efforts to reduce carbon footprint and use more clean energy.
  • This is equivalent to the amount of energy that can power 42,000 rural households for an entire year.
  • ICICI Bank reduced its overall energy consumption in large offices and branches from 198 million units in 2013-14 to 164 million units in 2016-17.
Reserve bank of India will observe a week long financial literacy
  • The Reserve Bank of India is observing June 5-9, 2017 asFinancial Literacy Week across the country to emphasize the importance of financial literacy.
  • The Week will focus on four broad themes namely Know Your Customer (KYC), Exercising Credit Discipline, Grievance Redress and Going Digital.
  • The Financial Literacy Centres (FLCs) and rural branches will conduct special camps and all bank branches in the country will display posters on the common themes inside the branch premises.
Vijaya Bank plans to develop 100 Digital Villages
  • Vijaya Bank started to develop as many as 100 digital villages in various States across the country as part of its initiative to promote digital banking among the rural population.
  • It is the only public sector financial institution to develop digital villages with a focus on rural population.
  • The bank has already developed 5 villages into Digital Villages.
  • In the Digital Villages, the bank would offer Internet, free Wi-Fi connectivity, mobile payment facilities, ATM cards, online banking and will carry out a door-to-door campaign to educate the villagers.
State Bank of India to organise mega farmers meet on June 8
  • State Bank of India will meet nearly 10,000 farmers to understand their credit need and provide finance.
  • The meeting will be organized at the bank's 15,500 rural and semi-urban branches across the country on June 8.
  • It has a total loan outstanding of Rs.2,70,000 crore (Two lakh seventy thousand crores) in the agriculture segment.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
TATA Projects launches initiative to promote green cover
  • TATA Projects announced the launch of Green Thumb, an initiative to enhance the green cover.
  • TATA Projects planted over 42,000 saplings across over 100 locations during 2016-17.
  • Over the past few years, over 1,00,000 saplings have been planted by TATA Projects at its various project sites.
India GDP growth to remain flat at 7.1% in 2017-18: HSBC
  • India's economic growth is expected to remain flat at 7.1 per cent in current fiscal as investment is still weak and government spending might not be as high given the fiscal consolidation, says an HSBC report.
  • According to the global financial services major, the GDP growth momentum is slowing since mid-2016 and this trend is expected to continue going forward.
BOOKS AND AUTHORS
'Ministry of Utmost Happiness' authored by Arundhati Roy launched
  • The book “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” has been authored by Arundhati Roy, was released recently.
  • It is fiction-based novel and will be published by Hamish Hamilton UK and Penguin India.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Five Arab countries break ties with Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.
  • The countries accused Qatar supported Sunni Islamist terrorism and Iranian designs in the region.
  • The countries also planned to break off all land, air and sea traffic with Qatar and eject its diplomats from their territories.
Second MI Ministerial to be Held 7-8 June 2017 in Beijing
  • On 7–8 June 2017, the second Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI-2) will take place in Beijing, China.
  • MI-2 will bring together energy ministers and other representatives from MI member countries to share knowledge and collaborate on priorities for clean energy innovation.
  • This event will include ministerial working sessions, opportunities for high-profile announcements, Innovation Challenge discussions, and a series of side events.
  • MI-2 will be co-located with the eighth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM8). While MI focuses on breakthrough research and development for the new technologies of tomorrow, the Clean Energy Ministerial focuses on scaling the deployment of clean energy technologies and solutions that are available today.
India overtakes China to top global retail index: GRDI
  • India has surpassed China to secure the top position among 30 developing countries on ease of doing business, according to a study that cited India’s rapidly expanding economy, relaxation of FDI rules and a consumption boom as the key drivers.
  • The GRDI was titled as ‘The Age of Focus’, ranks China in second place. Malaysia was in the third position in the list.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Panchayati Raj Secretary J S Mathur releases Handbook on Safe Child Program
  • The Panchayati Raj Secretary J S Mathur released ahandbook and module on safe child program at a function in New Delhi.
  • The book contains child rights and the role of panchayat members.
  • Fifty percent village panchayats are headed by women in the country and therefore it should be easy for them to prevent abuse of children.
Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu launches ‘Segregation of Municipal Waste at Source Initiative for NCR'
  • On the occasion of World Environment Day, the Union Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu launched a campaign on source segregation of municipal waste for National Capital Region (NCR).
  • The incorrect disposal and burning of solid waste result in the emission of climate change causing Greenhouse gases like Methane and Carbon Dioxide to the tune of 12.69 million tons of Carbon Dioxide in the country per year.
  • The Minister released a special edition of Diamond Toons Comic titled ‘Chacha Chaudhary & Swachh Bharat’. The comic book depicts cartoons with a message pertaining to solid waste management.
Dr Jitendra Singh announces “Hill Area Development Programme” for Northeast
  • The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh announced the launch of, “Hill Area Development Programme” (HADP) for Northeast in Imphal (Manipur).
  • Elaborating on the new scheme, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the hilly areas of Manipur, Tripura and Assam have a distinct geo-physical entity and are lagging in socio-economic development.
  • As a result of peculiar topography, he said, there is a wide gap between the hill and valley districts in terms of infrastructure, quality of roads, health and education etc.
  • The Hill Development Programme, he said, is inspired with a serious research and deliberation of all these factors.
India’s first public bicycle sharing project launched in Mysuru
  • Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah has recently launched India’s first public bicycle sharing (PBS) initiative 'Trin Trin' in Mysuru.
  • The World Bank, Global Environmental Fund, and state govt have jointly funded the initiative.
  • Mysuru is the first city in India to have a public bicycle sharing system. A total of 450 bicycles can be borrowed from 48 docking stations set up across the City for a nominal fee.
Telangana launches single-woman pension scheme, First in India
  • Telangana Government launched the single-women pension scheme across the state.
  • Single women will be given 1,000 per month as the first such scheme in India.
Government to implement India’s first Rural LED Street Lighting Project in Andhra Pradesh
  • Union Government launched 10 lakh LED street lights to be installed in Gram Panchayats of 7 districts in State namely Guntur, Prakasham, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur & Chittoor in the first phase.
  • This is the first project for rural LED street lighting in the country under the Government of India’s Street Lighting National Project (SLNP).
  • The entire upfront capital cost of this project is being funded by French Development Agency Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
  • As per the 18th Electric Power Survey of Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the estimated energy consumption in Indian public lighting sector is 8478 Mega Kilo Watt in 2012-13 and is constantly growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7 percent.
NSDC signs MoU with Bird Academy for skilling of unemployed youth
  • National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Bird Academy have signed an MoU to skill more than 30 thousand unemployed youth from across states in the aviation and aerospace sectors.
  • According to an official release, NSDC and Bird Academy will set up training centres and centres of excellence with an aim of increasing employability of youth in these sectors.
National Board of Wildlife clears Rutland Island for DRDO Missile Testing Project
  • The National Board of Wildlife approved Rutland Island in South Andaman to be the site for the country’s long-range missile test facility.
  • Taking into account the strategic importance of the project for country’s defense, the Standing Committee of the National Board of Wildlife has approved the project.
  • The project involves diversion of 49.978 acres forest land, of which 0.84 falls in the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park and 49.138 reserve forest within 10km of the Eco Sensitive Zone.
Government to implement India’s first Rural LED Street Lighting Project in Andhra Pradesh
  • Government of India, through the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) under the Ministry of Power, would be retrofitting 10 lakh conventional street lights with LED lights in Gram Panchayats of 7 districts in Andhra Pradesh.
  • This is the first project for rural LED street lighting in the country under the Government of India’s Street Lighting National Project (SLNP).
  • In the first phase, the replacement will be undertaken in gram panchayats of the districts of Guntur, Prakasham, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Ananthapur and Chittoor.
  • This replacement drive in rural areas will help the gram panchayats to cumulatively save approximately 147 million units of electricity annually and lead to reduction of 12 crore tonnes of CO2.
  • The entire upfront capital cost of this project is being funded by French Development Agency Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
  • As part of the project, EESL would be carrying out the entire annual maintenance and warranty replacement in these gram panchayats for a period of 10 years.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) launches three new apps
  • Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) launched three new apps to help customers rate quality of services, speed, and performance.
  • The three new apps are My call app, MySpeed app and 'Do not disturb (DND 2.0)' app.
  • The MyCall app is an Android application for crowdsourced voice call quality monitoring.
  • My Speed app will enable TRAI to obtain test-data from users in all service areas, without any action by the users.
  • The DND service app will enable users to register their mobile number under DND to avoid unsolicited commercial communication/telemarketing calls/SMS.
NSE launches International exchange at GIFT city
  • National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched its International exchange in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
  • All the trades will be cleared and settled through NSE International financial services center (IFSC) Clearing Corporations Limited.
  • NSE's rival BSE already operationalised its global exchange India International Exchange (INX) at international financial services center (IFSC).
National Aviation University signs MoU with Bird Worldwide Flight Services (India)
  • The National Aviation University (NAU) signed a MoU with the Bird Worldwide Flight Services (India) Private Limited on 1st of June 2017, to develop professional aviation and aerospace education programmes and research for the benefit of the Indian civil aviation industry.
  • Internships and campus placements for eligible students have been incorporated in the provisions.
  • The focus of the skill development programmes would be on quality of skilling which is aligned to the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF).
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY / DEFENCE AFFAIRS
Astronomers Discover a Giant Planet Hotter Than Most Stars
  • A team of Astronomers discovered the hottest planet ever known, with a dayside temperature of more than 4,300 degrees Celsius.
  • The new hottest giant planet KELT-9b is a planet that is hotter than most stars.
  • KELT-9b is a hybrid planet-star.
  • It has the mass of Planet and an atmosphere like a star.