Current Affairs - June 24, 2018 Current Affairs

L&T Finance opened it's 1000th meeting center in Kolkata for its micro-loans business. Over 30 per cent of the total disbursements of Rs 7214 crore in FY18 was added by the new meeting centers launched during that period. This would help increased rural focus.

The International Olympic Day is celebrated all around the world for commemorating the birth of modern Olympic games on June 23, 1894 at Sorbonne in Paris. Olympic day was introduced in 1948. Olympic Day Run is an international Olympic Movement activity promoting mass participation of sports held in June organized by National Olympic Committees (NOCs).

The annual London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) opens today with the red-carpet world premiere of Hollywood-cum-Bollywood starrer "Love Sonia", a film by the Oscar-nominated producer of "Life Of Pi", David Womark. This year, there is also a special cinematic tribute to Bollywood star Sridevi, who died suddenly in February, with a screening of her 1987 box-office hit "Mr India". Another tribute screening is UK-based filmmaker Sangeeta Dutta's docu-feature "Bird of Dusk", in memory of the late Rituparno Ghosh.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder & Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, will step down as the Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce. He will now function as the Honorary Chairman of ICC commencing July 1, 2018. He will be succeeded by Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, as ICC Chairman. Mittal was only the 3rd Indian to have been appointed the chairman of the ICC since it was constituted in 1919.

R Praggnanandhaa made history by becoming the 2nd youngest chess grandmaster in the world by earning his 3rd GM norm during Gredine Open. Praggnanandhaa who is just 12 years, 10 months and 14 days old is also the youngest Indian Grandmaster. Ukraine's Serget Karjakin remains the youngest ever Grandmaster. Viswanathan Anand, India's first ever GM, was 18 years old when he earned his 3rd norm.

"Indian Accent", which is located in the capital's Lodhi Road, holds 90th position in the list of 100 best eateries in the world, prepared by William Reed Business Media. The list was announced at an event in Bilbao, Spain. Meanwhile, Kolkata-born chef Gaggan Anand's Bangkok restaurant 'Gaggan' has been ranked at number 5, becoming the best restaurant in Asia. The top position on the list is held by Osteria Francescana of Italy followed by a Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was conferred the 'Chief Minister of the Year' award for her remarkable work in e-governance. The award was given to her at the 52nd Skoch Summit held in New Delhi. Efforts of the chief minister and state government were appreciated in implementing the prime minister's Digital India campaign for benefitting the common man.

UK-India Week 2018 a bilateral meeting was held at the Taj Hotel in London. This was held for promoting prosperity, generating jobs, developing skills, and enhancing the competitiveness of the 2 economies. The next UK-India Joint Economic Trade Committee to be held in India in 2018. The rate of growth reached a remarkable 15% in the first 3 quarters of 2017, compared to the same period in 2016. Over 80% of masala bond issuances to date have taken place in London, to a value of more than $3.9 billion.

The United States and South Korea have agreed to indefinitely suspend two exchange program training exercises. The announcement comes on the heels of the summit in Singapore between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Freedom Guardian along with two Korean Marine Exchange Program training exercises have been suspended.

The International Yoga Day (IYD) is celebrated every year on June 21 to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga. Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. The word 'yoga' derives from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness. Yoga is an ancient Indian practice which is very useful for curing many diseases and health disorders. The theme for the 2018 celebration, organized by the Permanent Mission of India to the U.N. is "Yoga for Peace". In India, the main event of 4th IDY-2018 was held at the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

On 22nd June 2018, the annual Ambubachi Mela has started at Nilachall hillock where the Kamakhya temple is situated in Assam. The temple will remain close from this evening and re-opened for public in the morning of 26th this month. Over 10 lakh devotees are expected to attend the mela. Temporary camps have been set up in and around the temple. Special thrust is being given in maintaining cleanliness. Around three thousand security personnel have been deployed. 80 buses have been pressed into services by the Assam State Transport Corporation to ferry passengers.

Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom said that its subsidiary Nikiret has signed an agreement with Indian engineering services firm Core Energy Systems Pvt Ltd for the promotion of its technical security equipment in India. According to Core Chief Executive Pranay Kumar, the partnership will explore opportunities in the Indian government's Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) project.