Current Affairs Update – 29th June, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the Important Current Affairs of 29th June, 2016. These are important for upcoming SBI PO Mains & UBI PO PGDBF 2016.

Current Affairs at a Glance– 29th June, 2016

  1. The World Bank Board on 21 June 2016 approved the 63 million US dollar project, Tejaswini: Socioeconomic Empowerment of
    Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Jharkhand
    . Tejaswini is the first World Bank project in India that is solely
    focused on the welfare of adolescent girls and young women
  2. The World Bank’s Board of
    Executive Directors on 24 June 2016 approved 201.50 million US dollars for Technical
    Education Quality Improvement Project III (TEQIP III) in India
    to
    improve the quality of engineering education in select Indian states.
  3. Axis Bank-country’s third
    largest private sector lender- in a bid to ride on the digital wave has decided
    to open an innovation lab where it will tie up with financial technology
    start-ups.
  4. Majuli was in news on 27 June
    2016 as the Government of Assam approved its up gradation as a district. The
    approval was given by the State Cabinet in its first meeting after the
    formation of the government on 24 May 2016. It is
    the largest mid river delta system in the world
    . It is also
    comprised of many islets locally called the Chaporis.
  5. Armed Forces and state government
    of Assam on 28 June 2016 started exercise JALRAHAT at Narangi Cantt of Assam. It is an
    initiative that is being carried on for flood relief in the state.
  6. The World Economic Forum (WEF) on 28 June 2016 released the Human Capital Report 2016. India occupied the 105th position among
    the 130 countries surveyed in the Index. In 2015, India’s position was 100th
    among the 124 countries surveyed in the Index.
  7. The United Nations Children’s
    Emergency Fund
    (UNICEF) on 28 June 2016 released
    the State of the World’s Children 2016 report
    .
  8. Food and Beverage multinational Nestle SA on 27 June 2016 named Ulf Mark
    Schneider as its next Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
    .
  9. Suzuki Motor Corp on Wednesday said its board has appointed Toshihiro
    Suzuki
    , son of Chairman Osamu Suzuki, as its next chief executive effective
    the same day, as the Japanese automaker attempts to recover from a vehicle testing
    scandal.
  10. Dairy major Amul today announced to sponsor the Indian contingent
    for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
    , to be held in August.
  11. India’s Ace shooter Sanjeev Rajput on 28 June 2016 clinched the silver medal for
    India in men’s 50-metre rifle 3 position event of the ISSF World Cup in Baku,
    Ajerbaijan.
  12. Senior artist K.G.
    Subramanyan
    (92) passed away in
    Baroda on Wednesday.
Finance/Economy –
World Bank approves $63 million for Tejaswini Project in Jharkhand

  • The World Bank Board on 21 June
    2016 approved the 63 million US dollar project, Tejaswini: Socioeconomic
    Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Jharkhand.
  • Tejaswini is the first World Bank
    project in India that is solely focused on the welfare of adolescent girls and
    young women. 
  • The project will support
    adolescent girls and young women between the ages of 14 and 24 to complete
    their secondary level education. It will also help them to acquire relevant
    skills for the job market. 
Key highlights of the project

  • The project will support
    market-driven skills training, secondary education and broader socio-economic
    empowerment for adolescent girls and young women in 17 select districts of the
    state.
  • It is expected to benefit about
    680000 adolescent girls and young women in the state.
  • In the 17 project districts,
    there are about 2.1 million adolescent girls and young women in the 14-24 age
    group, of which 13% belong to Scheduled Castes and 25% to Scheduled Tribes.
  • The project will intervene at two
    levels, i.e., at the community and at the institutional level.
  • The community-based platforms
    will hold regular counselling and guidance sessions, life skills education,
    livelihood support services and more.
  • At the institutional level, it
    will work with partner institutions through performance-based contracts to
    deliver vocational training, business skills training and non-formal education.
Life skills education will include four core elements:
  • (a) Resilience and soft skills:
    It includes communication and problem-solving skills, goal-setting and
    techniques to maintain psychological wellbeing through adversity.
  • (b) Rights and protections: This
    is related to early marriage, child labour, safe migration, gender-based
    violence and more.
  • (c) Health and nutrition: It
    includes sanitation and hygiene, nutritional habits for self and children and
    sexual and reproductive health.
  • (d) Financial literacy: It will
    help teach numeracy, saving, budgeting and accessing credit and financial
    institutions.
World Bank approves $201.50 million for Technical Education Quality
Improvement Project in India
  • The World Bank’s Board of
    Executive Directors on 24 June 2016 approved 201.50 million US dollars for
    Technical Education Quality Improvement Project III (TEQIP III) in India to
    improve the quality of engineering education in select Indian states.
  • The objective of the project is
    to enhance quality and equity in participating engineering education institutes
    and improve the efficiency of the engineering education system in focus states.
  • The maturity period for the
    project if 25 years with an additional 5 years grace period.
Two Components of the Projects
  • Improving quality and equity in
    engineering institutes in focus states
  • It will focus on improving
    engineering education in all government and government-aided colleges including
    the ATUs in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, LIS, states in the North East of India
    and hill states.
It has three sub-components:
  • (i) institutional development for
    participating institutes
  • (ii) widening impact through ATUs
  • (iii) twinning arrangements to
    build capacity and improve performance of participating institutes
System-level initiatives to strengthen sector governance and
performance
  • It will support the Ministry of
    Human Resource Development (MHRD) and key apex bodies including the All India
    Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Board of Accreditation
    (NBA).
  • It will strengthen sector
    governance, management, accountability mechanisms and performance in the
    overall system of engineering education.
Axis Bank launches innovation lab to partner with fintech start-ups
  • Axis Bank-country’s third largest
    private sector lender- in a bid to ride on the digital wave has decided to open
    an innovation lab where it will tie up with financial technology start-ups.
  • This innovation hub that is
    located in Bangalore will focus on curating start-ups and working with them to
    help them develop the value propositions and the bank will look at absorbing
    their technology.
  • These start-ups will mainly be
    focusing across lending, digital, payments and artificial intelligence space.
    For this, the bank has also tied up with Zone Start-ups, Nasscom, venture
    capitalist and some global banks. At the moment the lender is also
    experimenting with emerging technologies such as blockchain, mobiolity, cloud
    etc.
  • In its annual report released a
    few days ago, the lender had stated that it is planning to focus on start-ups
    and ecommerce as a business segment and has created a new business vertical-the
    New Economy Group within the corporate banking system. 
  • The bank said that this
    vertical will focus on improving relationship with e-commerce companies and
    start-ups, through a relationship-driven comprehensive coverage model.
Union Cabinet approves recommendations of 7th Pay Commission
  • Union Cabinet on 29 June 2016
    approved the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. The salaries and
    arrears, effective from 1 January 2016, will be made applicable now.
  • The commission recommended 23.55
    percent hike in pay and allowances of government employees.
Approved Recommendations are
  • The minimum pay for government
    employees is recommended to be set at 18000 rupees per month.
  • The maximum pay is recommended to
    be 225000 rupees per month for Apex Scale and 250000 per month for Cabinet
    Secretary and others presently at the same pay level.
  • The increase in pay will be 16
    percent, increase in allowances will be 63 percent and increase in pension will
    be 24 percent.
  • The present system of pay bands
    and grade pay has been dispensed and a new pay matrix has been designed. Grade
    Pay has been subsumed in the pay matrix. The status of the employee, determined
    by grade pay, will now be determined by the level in the pay matrix.
  • The rate of annual increment for
    employees will be 3 percent.
  • Abolition of 52 allowances and
    introduction of a Health Insurance Scheme.
  • One Rank One Pension proposed for
    civilian government employees on line of OROP for armed forces.
  • Increase in Military Service Pay
    and revised pension formula for civil employees including Central Armed Police
    Forces (CAPF) and Defence Personnel retiring before 1 January 2016.
  • Military Service Pay (MSP), which
    is a compensation for the various aspects of military service, will be
    admissible to the defence forces personnel only.
  • Ceiling of gratuity enhanced from
    10 lakh rupees to 20 lakh rupees and ceiling on gratuity will be raised by 25
    percent whenever DA rises by 50 percent.
CSIR-CIMFR inked MoU for coal quality analysis with coal supplying
companies
  • Council of Scientific and
    Industrial Research (CSIR) and Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research
    (CSIR-CIMFR) on 28 June 2016 inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
    Coal Supplying companies and Power Utilities for quality analysis of coal being
    supplied to power utilities by coal companies.
  • Highlights of the MoU
  • The CSIR-CIMFR would make use of
    its knowledge base support in maintaining the quality of coal at national level
    for the entire power sector.
  • It is estimated that about 300
    million metric tons of coal samples would be analyzed for quality per year.
  • The contract value of the project
    is around 250 crore rupees per annum at minimum.
India –
Majuli in Assam declared as island district
  • Majuli was in news on 27 June
    2016 as the Government of Assam approved its up gradation as a district. The
    approval was given by the State Cabinet in its first meeting after the
    formation of the government on 24 May 2016.
  • At present, Majuli is a Mohkuma,
    a sub division of the Jorhat District and represented by the Chief Minister
    Sarbananda Sonowal in the Assembly.
Key facts related to Majuli island
  • Geographical features: It is a
    fluvial landform (a riverine delta), a unique geographical occurrence and a
    result of the dynamics of the Brahmaputra river system.
  • It is bounded by the river
    Subanisri and her tributaries on the North West, the kherkatia Suli (a spill
    channel of the river Brahmaputra) in the northeast and the main Brahmaputra
    River on the South and the South west.
  • It is the largest mid river delta
    system in the world. It is also comprised of many islets locally called the
    Chaporis.
  • Its area has shrunk from about
    1250 square kilometers in 1891 to about 515 square kilometers due to the
    erosion of river-bank.
Exercise Jalrahat for flood Relief in Assam started
  • Exercise Jalrahat: a Joint
    Initiative by State Government and Armed Forces for Flood Relief in Assam
  • Armed Forces and state government
    of Assam on 28 June 2016 started exercise JALRAHAT at Narangi Cantt of Assam.
    It is an initiative that is being carried on for flood relief in the state.
  • The Exercise spread over three
    days terminates on 30 June 2016.
  • Exercise Jalrahat, a joint
    initiative led by GAJRAJ Corps with full support from HQ Eastern Command, is
    based on Flood Relief in an urban setting.
  • It is a clubbed name of the
    relief works that will be carried by all the three forces of India that is,
    Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.
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Reports/Indexes –
World Economic Forum released the Human Capital Report 2016

  • The World Economic Forum (WEF) on
    28 June 2016 released the Human Capital Report 2016.
  • The WEF prepared the report in
    collaboration with Mercer, an American global human resource and related
    financial services consulting firm.
  • The report presents an analysis
    by focusing on a number of key issues that can support better design of
    education policy and future workforce planning.
  • The Human Capital Index 2016
    ranks 130 countries on how well they are developing and deploying their human
    capital potential.
Top three Countries in the Human Capital Index are:
  • Finland (1)
  • Norway (2)
  • Switzerland (3)
Bottom three Countries in the Human Capital Index are:
  • Chad (128)
  • Yemen (129)
  • Mauritania (130)
India’s position in the Human Capital Index
  • India occupied the 105th position
    among the 130 countries surveyed in the Index. In 2015, India’s position was
    100th among the 124 countries surveyed in the Index.
  • In the Asia-Pacific region, it is
    placed behind Sri Lanka (50), China (71), Indonesia (72), Iran (85), Bhutan
    (91) and Bangladesh (104).
  • India has secured 62nd, 98th,
    106th, 119th and 120th position in the 0 to 14, 15 to 24, 25 to 54, 55 to 64,
    and 65 and Over categories respectively.
UNICEF released the State of the World’s Children 2016 Report
  • The United Nations Children’s
    Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on 28 June 2016 released the State of the World’s
    Children 2016 report.
  • The data in the report show that,
    unless the pace of progress to reach them is accelerated, the futures of
    millions of disadvantaged and vulnerable children will be jeopardized.
Key highlights of the State of the World’s Children 2016 report
  • The report mentions that unless
    the world focuses more on the plight of its most disadvantaged children, by
    2030:
  • Almost 70 million children may
    die before reaching their fifth birthdays.
  • Children in sub-Saharan Africa
    will be 10 times more likely to die before their fifth birthdays than children
    in high-income countries.
  • Nine out of 10 children living in
    extreme poverty will live in sub-Saharan Africa.
India in the report
  • The report states that five
    countries will account for more than half of the global burden of under-five
    deaths. These countries are India (17 per cent), Nigeria (15 per cent),
    Pakistan (8 per cent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (7 per cent) and
    Angola (5 per cent).
  • The average annual rate of
    reduction in neonatal mortality required for India to reach the target is
    almost double the current level.
Appointments –
Nestle named Ulf Mark Schneider as CEO
  • Food and Beverage multinational
    Nestle SA on 27 June 2016 named Ulf Mark Schneider as its next Chief Executive
    Officer (CEO). He is the CEO of Fresenius, a Germany-based healthcare company.
    He will join Nestle on 1 September 2016 and start as CEO on 1 January 2017.
  • He will succeed incumbent CEO
    Paul Bulcke, who will resign from the position on 31 December 2016. Bulcke has
    been named by Nestle board as its next chairman after incumbent Peter
    Brabeck-Letmathe retires in 2017.
  • 50-year old Schneider will be the
    first outsider to run 150-year old Nestlé since 1922, when banker Louis Dapples
    was appointed to head the company after its only financial loss.
  • The appointment of Schneider
    highlights the increasing importance of health and nutrition for
    Switzerland-based manufacturer of Maggi noodles and Kit Kat candy bars.
  • Schneider appointment will expand
    the Nestle’s capability to become one of the pre-eminent players in the
    Nutrition, Health and Wellness sector.
Suzuki Motors appoints scion Toshihiro Suzuki as CEO
  • Suzuki Motor Corp on Wednesday
    said its board has appointed Toshihiro Suzuki, son of Chairman Osamu Suzuki, as
    its next chief executive effective the same day, as the Japanese automaker
    attempts to recover from a vehicle testing scandal.
  • The appointment comes after
    patriarch Osamu Suzuki this month said he would decline the CEO position to
    take responsibility for the automaker’s use of incorrect testing methods when
    calculating vehicle mileage.
Sports –
Amul to sponsor Indian contingent for Rio Olympics
  • Dairy major Amul today announced
    to sponsor the Indian contingent for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, to be held in
    August.
  • The Gujarat Cooperative Milk
    Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells its product under the brand Amul,
    will pay Rs 1 crore to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for the
    sponsorship.
  • The agreement for the official
    sponsorship of the Indian contingent in 2016 Olympic games, was signed by IOA
    Secretary General Rajeev Mehta and GCMMF Managing Director R S Sodhi.
Sanjeev Rajput wins silver in ISSF World Cup
  • India’s Ace shooter Sanjeev
    Rajput on 28 June 2016 clinched the silver medal for India in men’s 50-metre
    rifle 3 position event of the ISSF World Cup in Baku, Ajerbaijan.
  • To claim the silver medal, Rajput
    shot 456.9 points. This was his third World Cup medal and first in five years
    (he won gold at 2011 Changwon World Cup).
  • This was also India’s second
    medal of the competition and of the same colour as well, after pistol ace Jitu
    Rai’s silver winning effort in the men’s 10m air pistol earlier in the
    competition.
  • Croatia’s Petar Gorsa won the
    gold medal with 457.5, while Hyeonjun Kim of Korea bagged the bronze after he
    shot 445.5.
  • This was the last World Cup
    before the Rio Olympic Games.
Obituaries –
Senior artist K.G. Subramanyan passes away
  • Senior artist K.G. Subramanyan
    (92) passed away in Baroda on Wednesday.
  • Subramanyan, who was recovering
    from a recent surgery, was a modernist, having studied art under stalwarts like
    Nandlal Boss, Ramkinkar Baij and Benode Bihari Mukherjee in Shantiniketan.
  • When he turned 90, Seagull
    Foundation For The Arts decided to celebrate the occasion with a year-long
    travelling exhibition of the master’s latest works.
Naga rebel leader Isak Chishi Swu dies
  • Naga rebel leader Isak Chishi Swu
    died on 28 June 2016 following a prolonged illness at Fortis hospital in Vasant
    Kunj, Delhi. He was 87.
  • He was the co-founder and
    chairman of Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) (NSCN-IM).
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