Current Affairs - June 9, 2018 Current Affairs

RBI stated that a Public Credit Registry (PCR) will be set up containing information on all borrowers to ensure financial stability. Following a report by Yeshwant M Deosthalee headed High-Level Task Force, RBI stated it has considered the recommendations and decided to set up a PCR in a modular and phased manner.

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated 73km long National Highway in Tripura. This national highway will connect Matabati to Udaipur-Sabroom. This was constructed in 30 months, and it will help in infrastructure development.

The Mandela-Gandhi Youth Conference was held at Pietermaritzburg in South Africa on June 8, 2018. The conference was part of a 3-day commemoration of the historic incident 125 years ago when on June 7, 1893, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a young lawyer then, was thrown off a train compartment reserved for whites only. Delegates from a dozen countries in the Conference called for a return to Gandhian values to address global challenges threatening humanity. Diaspora youth from India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia Egypt, Malawi, Seychelles and Mozambique joined more than 120 South African youngsters to debate and share views on whether the Gandhian philosophy of Satyagraha, Ahimsa and Sarvodaya was relevant today and whether it could be used to find solutions for the problems around the world.

India, Belgium, and the European Union are jointly organizing events in the Belgian capital and across the country to celebrate the 4th International Day of Yoga. In this regard, the Embassy of India, Brussels, on 21 June 2018 in partnership with the European Parliament and the Art of Living Foundation, and on 24 June 2018 in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing, Environment, and Energy of the Brussels Capital Region Government, the City of Brussels and Vidonne Asbl will organize events on yoga, wellness and harmony of body and mind. At the European Parliament, a special yoga session will be held on 21 June 2018 from 1200-1330 hrs at the Yehudi Menuhin Space. The event will be graced by Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, and Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister of India. The Embassy of India in Brussels, in association with local authorities and yoga foundations, is organizing "Brussels Yoga Day" events at the city's Bois de la Cambre Park on June 24.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed an MoU with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Norway to extend the cooperation within health sector through the Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) for a period of 3 years starting from 2018 to 2020. The partnership was based on India's health initiative, the National Health Mission (NHM) and works to provide best health care for the child and mother. The area of focus include maternal, new-born, child health, and shall build on experiences from NIPI phase I and II. The focus states are Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and also as a RMNCHA+ partner in Jammu & Kashmir.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Qingdao, China, to attend the two-day long 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. This will be India's first participation in the summit as a full-time member of the organization. India, along with Pakistan, became a full-time member during the Astana summit in June 2017.

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.

Indian cricketer Mithali Raj has become the first batter from the country to score 2000 runs in T20I cricket. She achieved the feat during India's Women's T20 Asia Cup match against Sri Lanka in Kuala Lumpur. Mithali has now scored 2015 runs in 74 T20Is with the help of 14 half-centuries. She has a decent average of 38.01 with the highest score of 76 not out. Mithali is the seventh woman batter to score 2,000 runs in T20Is, a list which is topped by Charlotte Edwards (2,605), followed by Stafanie Taylor (2,582) and Suzie Bates (2,515).

Union Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar will present the National Awards on Best Performing Self Help Groups under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) on 11th June 2018 in New Delhi. The National Awards to the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are given to honour their outstanding performance and encourage their work. The National Awards to the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are given to honour their outstanding performance and encourage their work.

The 17th round of Foreign Office Consultations between India and Myanmar was held in New Delhi. The Indian side was led by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. The Myanmar side was led by Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U Myint Thu. Both the countries reviewed the bilateral relations. They discussed on high-level visits, security and defence related issues, boundary matters and border management, trade and commerce, development cooperation, connectivity, cultural and consular matters. They exchanged views on sub-regional, regional and global issues of mutual interest between both the countries.

Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Rathore has approved the upward revision of pension to meritorious sportspersons. Under the revision, the rate of pension has been doubled of the existing rate of pension on winning medals in international sports events. Following the upward revision of pension, the medallist at the Olympic/Para-Olympic Games will get Rs.20,000 while a gold medallist at World Cup/World Championship in Olympic and Asian Games disciplines will get Rs.16,000.

Andhra Pradesh will become the first Indian state to use auto-disable syringes for all clinical purposes to prevent infection. The move will be enforced from the World Hepatitis Day (WHD-2018) when the state government will declare itself as "Safety Injection Use State". The initiative will ensure one injection will be given from one syringe by mandating universal usage of auto-disable syringes in all clinical/therapeutic cases as part of infection prevention. The move would strengthen the healthcare system by lowering the burden of infections and breaking the cycle of cross infection.

The Punjab government has launched a "Business First Portal" to give a big push towards the ease of doing business in the state. It was unveiled by Industry Minister Sunder Sham Arora in Jalandhar on June 7, 2018. The online portal will facilitate the industrialists for Regulatory Clearances and Fiscal Approvals, real-time tracking of applications at common platform.

Venus is not a hospitable place for humans. The planet is covered in thick, billowing sulfuric acid clouds, underneath which temperatures reach nearly a thousand degrees Fahrenheit. If you were unfortunate enough to stand on Venus' volcano-spotted surface, you would feel 100 times more pressure than you would be standing on the surface of our own planet, in large part due to its atmosphere. Naturally, NASA scientists have a lot of questions. A team of them recently announced Project HAVOC, which stands for "High Altitude Venus Operational Concept." The project details how a 30-day, manned mission to Venus might go down. And while the operation is purely speculative much of the necessary technology doesn't exist yet it marks the first serious plan for how people might explore our nearest planetary neighbor.

President Ram Nath Kovind gave West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi additional charge of Tripura Governor, during the absence on leave of Tathagata Roy. The President of India is pleased to appoint Keshari Nath Tripathi to discharge the functions of the Governor of Tripura, in addition to his own duties, during the absence on leave of Tathagata Roy, Governor of Tripura.

Nepal's Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Rajendra Chhetri is on a six-day visit to India. He is visiting India at the invitation of COAS General Bipin Rawat. General Chhetri will attend the Officer Cadet's 'Passing Out Parade' as Chief Reviewing officer at Indian Military Academy in Dehradun.

World's first European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) nuclear reactor started its operations in Taishan, in Southern China. It has third generation European technology. It is being managed by China General Nuclear Power Corporation. It is being managed by China General Nuclear Power Corporation. This project is in Guangdong province and is 51% owned by CGN, 30% owned by EDF and 19% owned by the region's electrical utility firm.