Current Affairs - June 8, 2017 Current Affairs

Habibganj railway station in the suburbs of Bhopal will become country's first railway station to be redeveloped in a public-private partnership (PPP) mode. It become a swanky commercial hub with shops, offices and hotels, all in a span of three years. The operation and maintenance responsibilities for the station have been given to Bhopal-based Bansal Group for a period of eight years.

China launches first World Pest Day in the capital with an aim to eventually reduce and eliminate pest-borne diseases. It is Initiated by the Chinese Pest Control Association (CPCA), international organisations and associations, it was proposed to increase awareness of pest-borne diseases and safeguard public health through scientific and professional pest control methods.

World Oceans Day is takes place every June 8. The theme for World Oceans Day 2017 is "Our Oceans, Our Future", and the conservation action focus is on encouraging solutions to plastic pollution and preventing marine litter for a healthier ocean and a better future.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) and Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) for export credit of USD 9 billion. This is expected to promote the country's international exports and deepen political and financial ties between India and South Korea.

Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) is planning to develop 21 new stations on its route and double a 147-km stretch of the track. A total 147 km of the railway track would be doubled under the expansion and modernisation project on the Konkan route at a cost of Rs. 3,000 crore.

The three countries US, China and India are considered to be the most prospective destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI), predicted the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its annual report on investment.

State Bank of India has opened up their APIs (Application program interface) for a hackathon, Code for Bank, to tap into the larger developer talent pool for new tech innovations. This hackathon, supported by online platform for hackers HackerEarth, is open to developers and startups from India with the idea of taking the platform to global developers in the near future.

A national human milk bank was inaugurated at Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) in New Delhi to provide breast milk to newborns who cannot be nursed by their own mothers. The human milk bank and lactation counselling centre, 'Vatsalya - Maatri Amrit Kosh', will collect, pasteurise, test and store milk donated by lactating mothers and make it available for infants in need.

India is among the top five consumer markets in Asia offering retailers consumer spending growth of an average of 6.1 per cent over the next five years. China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, India and Indonesia represent five favourite consumer markets in Asia, offering retailers the strongest consumer spending growth over its forecast period to 2021.

Axis Bank Ltd announced biodegradable prepaid gift cards. The card made of biodegradable plastic will help spread awareness about the benefits of such products, Singh added. The cards will be acceptable at all domestic merchant outlets and online portals.

K G Karmakar and Gauri Shankar are appointed as Independent Directors of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved their appointment to the post on the board of directors of the bank for a period of three years.

HDFC Bank has introduced charges on UPI. These charges make small value payments over UPI more expensive than those on national electronic fund transfer (NEFT). 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. As against this the NEFT charges are Rs 2.5 for transactions up to Rs 10,000 and Rs 5 for transactions above Rs 10,000. It will be charged from July 10.