Current Affairs - June 1, 2018 Current Affairs

The ICICI Bank board appointed former Bank of Baroda (BoB) chief M D Mallya as an additional (independent) directorfor a period of 5 years. M D Mallya's appointment is subject to the approval of shareholders. His appointment comes a month before the ICICI bank's chairman M K Sharma completes his term. Before joining BoB, M D Mallya was the chairman of Bank of Maharashtra. He is 65 years old.

Yes Bank has entered into an agreement with SIDBI under which it will act as a preferred financial institution for giving loans to the small and medium enterprising customers. This will facilitate smooth flow of credit in a hassle-free manner to MSME customers availing term loan facility from SIDBI. Small enterprises will also be entitled to use Yes Bank's varied banking solutions.

Andhra Pradesh government has decided to notify 'Rose-ringed parakeet' popularly known as 'Rama Chiluka', as the state bird. The neem is the official tree of the Andhra Pradesh. The blackbuck is the animal while Jasmine as its state flower.

Amar Devulapalli is a Hyderabad based journalist who is the consulting editor of Shakshi daily. Indrajit is a senior journalist in Delhi and works as the Associate Editor of Indian News and Features Agency (INFA). They would be replacing former President Mr. S N Sinha and former Secretary -General K Sreenivas Reddy.

Social Media platform Facebook joined hands with National Commission for Women (NCW) to launch digital literacy programme in collaboration with Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF). This will provide training on responsible and right usage of Internet, social media and email. The training will be given to 60000 women in universities across major cities in Haryana, Delhi-NCR, Manipur, Sikkim, Meghalaya , Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu .The training will be conducted in local languages.

Sikkim government has approved Minimum Support Price (MSP) for various organic horticultural commodities, mostly vegetables, being produced in the state in order to protect the interests of the farming community. The Sikkimese farmers will get differential MSP for the organic commodities. Sikkim government had banned sale of 27 non-organic food products in the state from April 1, 2018.

India is organizing an International Conference on Trade -Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) linkage in Geneva on June 7 and 8. To talk with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on issues related to prevention of theft of traditional knowledge of Ayurveda and Naturopathy. The conference will be participated by various nations like Brazil, China, Indonesia, Peru, Philippines and New Zealand. The fields for the issue will be : Ayurveda, Naturopathy and Yoga and traditional knowledge of healing properties of Neem and Turmeric. The CBD is a multi lateral agreement on sustainable development and fair sharing of benefits. It will give global protection to the knowledge and country of origin like India from theft.

The Athletics Federation of India announced the retirement of discus thrower Vikas Gowda. Vikas Gowda has retired from the game after competing at the highest level for over 15 years. He became the first and only Indian male to win Commonwealth Games medals in discus throw. He owns the national record of 66.28m (achieved in 2012). He won silver medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and a gold medal in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Kerala government has decided to reduce the prices of petrol and diesel by Re 1 in Kerala with effect from 1st June 2018. Kerala has become the first state to announce a reduction in fuel prices. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made the announcement on 30th May 2018. Kerala has become the first state to announce a reduction in fuel prices. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made the announcement on 30th May 2018. Kerala has become the first state to announce a reduction in fuel prices. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made the announcement on 30th May 2018. Pinarayi Vijayan said that, this will create a loss of Rs. 509 crore for the Kerala state government. On 30th May 2018, there was a reduction in the prices of petrol and diesel after 16 consecutive days. But the reduction was only one paisa per litre.

The third Home Affairs' Dialogue between India and UK was held in New Delhi. The dialogue covered a wide range of issues including cyber security, women safety, organized crime and terror financing. Detailed exchange of views took place between the two sides on Indian fugitives and economic offenders residing in the U.K.

The joint Indo-Bangladesh Army Trekking Expedition to Nanda Devi has started from New Delhi. This joint expedition will further strengthen the relatioons of the two concerned countries . The team has a 16-member Indian Armyteam and a 10-member Bangladesh Army team. Mt Nanda Devi east base camp is located 4300m from the sea level and has a very challenging trekking route.

India and Indonesia have agreed to set up a special task force to enhance connectivity between the strategic Andaman and Nicobar Islands and provinces in Sumatra Island. This will promote trade, tourism and people-to-people contacts. The Joint Task Force will undertake projects for port related infrastructure in and around Sabang which is an Indonesian island.

Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, who is currently Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, has been appointed the new General Officer Commander-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Northern Command (of the Indian Army). Lt Gen Singh will succeed Lt Gen Devraj Anbu, who will take charge as Vice Chief of the Indian Army on June 1. Lt Gen Singh was the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) when India carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on September 26, 2016. Lt Gen Singh had also served as commander of the Army's One Corps in Mathura.

Facebook will be launching Whatsapp Pay , a payment service for its whatsapp platform. It will be partnering with HDFC, AXIS, ICICI and SBI banks. A pilot version of Whatsapp Pay has started in February with 1 million users in India. The active usage is estimated to be 20 times more than Paytm's.

Aditya Puri, managing director of HDFC has appeared in the top 30 global CEOs list released by Barron's. Aditya Puri has featured in the top 30 global CEOs list by Barron's for the fourth consecutive year. He is the only Indian to feature in the list. Aditya Puri has appeared in the "Growth Leaders" category. He is 67 years old. He has been the Managing Director of HDFC Bank since 1994.

National Mineral Development Corporation and NLC ltd. (formerly knows as Neyveli Lignite Corporation) signed a pact with Environment Clean Technologies Ltd of Australia in Canberra to set up a research and Development facility in Tamil Nadu. This pact would help Australia and India work together in developing low emission iron and steel process through integrated Coldry - Mamtorplant that will be built in India. The project has two phases : Commencing a R&D phase that has a fund of AUD 35 million by Indian partners and commercial expansion of the for the steel making facility with capacity of 5 lakh tonne per annum. The amount for this fund is : AUD 300 million.