Current Affairs Update – 8th June, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Current Affairs of 8th June, 2016. These are important for the upcoming SBI Clerk & SBI PO Mains 2016 Exams.

• India and the US today announced
  the setting up of two financial assistance programmes worth $60 million for
  supporting India’s much-needed clean energy initiatives including in solar
  power and other renewables.
• An announcement in this regard
  came after the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack
  Obama in the Oval Office.
• This includes the creation of a
  $20 million US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) initiative, equally
  supported by the US and India.
• This is expected to mobilise up
  to $400 million to provide clean and renewable electricity to up to 1 million
  households by 2020.
• The White House said India and
  the US committed themselves to establish the US-India Clean Energy Hub as the
  coordinating mechanism to focus the US government’s efforts, in partnership
  with leading Indian financial institutions, to increase renewable energy
  investment in India.

• ICICI Bank on Wednesday said it
  has added five more features, including instant tax payment and rail ticket
  booking, on its mobile banking app, ‘iMobile’.
• India’s largest private sector
  bank said customers can also add an extra layer of security to their
  cheque-based transactions with ‘Positive Pay’, apply for a personalised Expressions
  Debit Card and purchase travel and motor insurance as well as mutual funds via
  its banking app.
• In a statement, the bank said,
  users can now avail themselves of over 150 services on ‘iMobile’.

• State Bank of India on Wednesday
  said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Jain Farm Fresh
  Foods Ltd (a subsidiary of Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd) to help farmers
  associated with the latter to avail of finance against receivables due from the
  company.
• Under the tie-up, India’s largest
  bank will use the corporate’s ecosystem data to digitally enable lending
  solutions to customers. Farmers’ past performance data with the associated
  anchor company will be used to assess eligibility and enable loan sanction.
• This solution, unlike traditional
  agri-lending products, moves away from lending based on the farmers’ assets,
  land holding and financial history. Instead, it uses proprietary historical
  performance data and information from the public domain to assess the farmer’s
  eligibility and credit worthiness to sanction the loan.
• The new product relies on minimal
  documentation and liquid assets as security and helps reduce the time involved
  in sanctioning. A proprietary digital tool has been developed by SBI to
  facilitate this centralised electronic sanctioning.
• Rajnish Kumar, MD – National
  Banking Group, SBI said, his bank is seeking to harness the combined potential
  of the rural economy, disruptive digital innovation, and leverage the strength
  of corporate partnerships.

• Software major Infosys Ltd would
  provide its core banking solution Finacle to e-commerce platform Paytm for its
  payments bank business, the firm said on Wednesday.
• The flagship banking product is
  part of the company’s subsidiary EdgeVerve Systems.
• The application programme
  interfaces of Finacle will enable Paytm to integrate payments bank services to
  its wallet business at a reduced cost and simplify its banking operations.
• Finacle’s scalability will allow
  Paytm to meet growth needs and manage expansion in the scale of its operations.

• Multilateral lending agency Asian
  Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said it has approved a $100 million (around
  Rs 660 crore) loan to strengthen a key irrigation system and improve water
  management in the Vennar sub-basin of Cauvery Delta in Tamil Nadu.
• This project will support both
  physical improvements and stronger water management, giving a significant boost
  to the lives of coastal communities who often go without sufficient irrigation
  water.
• The Vennar irrigation network is
  no longer able to meet the needs of many of its poorest farmers particularly in
  coastal areas and the climate extremes that have been battering the country and
  are expected to worsen mean there is a pressing need to upgrade it.
• To boost management, more
  community members will be tapped to take part in planning and delivery of water
  services, training will given to state water resource department officers,it
  said.
• The Cauvery delta, on the east coast
  of Tamil Nadu, is known as the ‘rice bowl’ of the state, with over 70% of the
  delta population engaged in farming and fishing, but access to water is
  unreliable and flooding common during the monsoon season.

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
  and the Union Government on 3 June 2016 signed the Loan Agreement for 200
  million US dollars to upgrade 176 Kilometres of State roads in Jharkhand.
• The agreement was signed by Raj
  Kumar. Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), Department of Economic
  Affairs, Ministry of Finance and by M. Teresa Kho, Country Director of ADB’s
  India Resident Mission.

• It will upgrade existing sections
  of four State roads to two lane standard and will also support improvements in
  the design, safety and maintenance of the network.
• Besides upgrading 176 km of
  roads, the project will help the State develop an international standard road
  safety master plan for promoting road safety in Jharkhand.
• It will enhance the State’s
  ability to systematically identify, analyze, develop and prioritize critical
  road safety measures, which will benefit all road users.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
  meeting on Tuesday with President Obama began on a propitious note as members
  of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), agreed to admit India, in a triumph
  for the prime minister.
• A deadline for members of the
  34-nation group to object to India’s admission had expired on Monday without
  any raising objections. Strong US backing set India up nicely for membership as
  rival China does not belong to this elite club of 34 countries that control
  trade in missile and space technology.
• This will give India access to
  high-end missile technology from across the world and will allow India to
  purchase top-of-the-line missile systems.The MTCR will also pave the way for
  India to sell its supersonic BrahMoscruise missiles, which it developed jointly
  with Russia to third countries. It’s a feather in Modi’s cap, that the
  development will make India a significant arms exporter for the first time.
• The Obama administration has
  strongly backed India’s membership into MTCR and three other export control
  regimes — the Australia Group, Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Wassenaar
  Arrangement.
• Rome had earlier objected to
  admitting India into the missile control group because of its spat with India
  over an Italian marine.

• India on 4 June 2016 became the
  co-chair of Working Group on Maritime Situational Awareness under Contact Group
  on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS).
• This decision was taken through a
  consensus during the 19th Plenary Session of the CGPCS that took place in Mahe,
  Seychelles during 31 May – 3 June 2016.

• The Indian Navy and Coast Guard
  have played a very important role by enhanced patrolling in the high seas and
  providing armed naval escorts to ships moving in the area.
• To protect Indian ships and
  Indian citizens employed in sea-faring duties, Indian Navy commenced
  anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden from 23 October 2008.
• In addition to escorting
  Indian-flagged ships, ships of other countries have also been escorted by the
  Indian Navy.
• Merchant ships are currently
  being escorted along the entire length (490 nm long and 20 nm wide) of the
  Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) which is heavily patrolled
  by Indian Navy.
• To maintain high degree of
  alertness in the region, around 19 coastal security operations and exercises
  have been undertaken over the past year.

• India on 4 June 2016 signed a
  Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States of America (USA) to
  facilitate hassle-free entry of Indians into America at selected airports. It
  will provide quick security clearances for pre-approved, low-risk travellers
  from India.

• The Agreement was signed as a
  part of America’s International Expedited Traveller Initiative which is also
  known as the Global Entry Programme. India became the ninth country to sign the
  agreement with US.
• It was signed between India’s US
  Ambassador Arun K Singh and Kevin K McAleenan, deputy commissioner of US
  Customs and Border Protection..
• The agreement will have positive
  impact on all kinds of people-to-people exchange between the two countries as
  the programme at the US airports will enable further easing of travel
  environment for the approved travellers.

• Himachal Pradesh on 5 June 2016
  became the first Indian state to have a State Data Centre (SDC). The centre was
  launched by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in Shimla.
• The SDC is designed using green
  data centre concept. The centre will offer 101 people-oriented service online
  through an integrated data base.
• CM Virbhadra Singh directed all
  government departments to make use of SDC for hosting e-Governance applications
  instead of creating their own infrastructure.
• Now, departmental applications
  can be hosted centrally in SDC free of cost and HIMSWAN connectivity could be
  provided in field offices to access departmental applications.

• The SDC was launched at an
  expenditure of 58-crore rupees.
• The centre will integrate the
  websites of various departments.
• All services could be accessible
  through the integrated data base. It will save time and money spent on creation
  of infrastructure.
• The centre will help in reducing
  the burden on state exchequer and at the same time help in the integration of
  online databases of various departments.

• Rajasthan Government on 5 June
  2016 launched mobile application RajVayu for sharing information about Air
  Quality Index of Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur. The app was launched by Rajasthan
  Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on the eve of World Environment Day.
• With this, Rajasthan became first
  state in country to launch such app for sharing information about air quality
  index of cities. 

• Information provided on RajVayu
  app is based on the data collected by sophisticated air quality monitoring
  equipment and weather sensors.
• The app has been designed by
  Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) jointly with Indian Institute
  of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).
• It will share details about the
  air quality, such as levels of pollutants likes SOx, NOx, CO, Ozone particles and
  Particulate Matter (PM) with the city residents and tourists.

• Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal
  launched Surya Mitra mobile App at National Workshop on Rooftop Solar Power in
  New Delhi on 7 June 2016.
• The App will be very useful in
  the field of Renewable energy to serve customers at their doorsteps with
  quality installation, repair, and Observations and Measurements (O&M)
  services.

• The Mobile App was developed by
  National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) which is an autonomous institution of
  Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• It is a high end technology
  platform that can handle thousands of calls simultaneously and can efficiently
  monitor all visits of Suryamitra’s.
• The trained Suryamitra’s who opts
  for entrepreneurship have joined in the Mobile App in several states.

• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
  Akhilesh Yadav on 7 June 2016 appointed a judicial commission to probe into the
  recent Mathura violence hours.
• The Judicial commission will be
  headed by retired Allahabad High Court judge Justice Mirza Imtiyaz Murtaza. It
  has been asked to submit its report in two months.
• The commission was formed after
  the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea seeking a CBI probe into the
  incident.

• The commission has been mandated
  to conduct the inquiry on six points of reference.
• Among other aspects it will find
  out the reasons because of which such a big incident occurred, the lapses on
  the part of police and intelligence failure if any.
• It will look into the plan and
  preparedness of district administration and its effectiveness.

• The Rajiv Gauba Committee on
  Decongestion of Traffic in Delhi on 5 June 2016 submitted its report to the
  Union Ministry of Urban Development.
• To ensure a safe, sustainable,
  affordable, equitable, comfortable, accessible and environmental friendly
  public transport system in the city, the Committee recommended a 4-pronged strategy
  with the components of –
• i. Improving Public Transport and
  Disincentivising use of private vehicles
• ii. Promoting Road Safety and
  efficient Traffic Management
• iii. Setting up Unified
  Metropolitan Transport Authority and enhancing institutional capacity
• iv. Promotion of Transit Oriented
  Development through integrated land use and transportation planning

• Exercise Desert Eagle II, which
  was the second in the series of bilateral exercises between Indian Air Force
  (IAF) and United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAE AF), was concluded on 3 June
  2016.
• This was a ten-day air combat
  exercise in which the IAF and the UAE Air Force undertook air exercises from
  Al-Dhafra Air Base, Abu Dhabi starting from 22 May 2016.

• Exercise Desert Eagle-II saw the
  IAF Su 30 MKI participating along with Mirage 2000-9 and F-16 block 60 of the
  UAE Air Force.
• Mission commanders from both
  sides participated in the Exercise and availed this opportunity to the maximum
  to draw valuable operational lessons.
• Despite the predominantly hot and
  arid conditions with temperatures well beyond 40 deg Celsius, IAF maintenance
  support staff succeeded in maintaining high serviceability state of aircraft
  and equipment.

• Fashion designer and AIDS
  activist Kenneth Cole was named an international goodwill ambassador by the
  head of the UN’s AIDS-fighting organisation.
• The yesterday’s appointment by
  UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe came on the eve of the UN General Assembly’s
  high-level meeting on ending AIDS today through Friday.
• Cole told reporters at a news
  conference at UN headquarters he hopes to combine his United Nations work with
  his work at The Foundation for AIDS Research, known as amfAR, and its goal of
  finding a cure for the disease by 2020.
• He said it’s as important as ever
  to continue bringing about awareness of AIDS because a cure is within reach
  even as calls for pulling back funding for AIDS research increase.

• Special Inspector General of
  Police Sanjay Saxena was on Tuesday appointed as the chief of the Mumbai Police
  Crime Branch.
• Mr. Saxena was heading the Force
  One, the State’s paramilitary force formed after the Novembr 2008 terror
  attacks in Mumbai.
• Mr. Saxena will take charge of
  the post vacated by Additional Director General of Police Atulchandra Kulkarni,
  who took over as the head of the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad after his
  promotion last month.
• An Indian Police Service officer
  of the 1993 batch, Mr. Saxena has served as Superintendent of Police in Manmad,
  and Deputy Commissioner of Police in Bhiwandi, before being transferred to
  Mumbai, where he served as DCP, Zone VIII.

• Shahid Rasool, a communication
  technology specialist, on 7 June 2016 took charge as the Director of the
  Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA).
• Rasool will guide CEMCA in its
  mission to ensure effective utilisation of educational media resources for
  distance education.
• He was earlier the Director of
  the Educational Multimedia Research Centre, University of Kashmir. He earned
  his MS Degree in Communication Technology from Syracuse University and has a
  doctorate in mass communication and journalism from the University of Kashmir.

• Tintu Luka, the Rio
  Olympics-bound Indian track and field athlete, on 7 June 2016 won a silver
  medal in 800 meters in the Josef Odlozil Memorial Athletics Meet in Prague,
  Czech Republic.
• To win the medal, she covered the
  distance with her season’s best timing of 2:00.61 (2 minutes point Six One
  seconds).
• The reigning Asian champion was
  second behind 2013 World Youth Championship gold winner Anita Hinriksdottir of
  Iceland who ran the distance in 2:00.54 (2 minutes point five four seconds).

• Russian Tennis player Maria
  Sharapova was suspended for two years on Wednesday for testing positive for meldonium
  at the Australian Open.
• The five-time Grand Slam champion
  was provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in
  early March, when she announced at a news conference in Los Angeles that she
  failed a doping test in January.
• Sharapova said then she was not
  aware that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had barred athletes from using
  meldonium, also known as mildronate, as of Jan 1.
• Her lawyer, John Haggerty, said
  Sharapova took the substance after that date.

• The World Oceans Day was observed
  globally on 8 June 2016 with the theme Healthy oceans, healthy planet. The main
  focus of this year’s theme is on curbing the plastic pollution.
• Plastic pollution is a serious
  threat because it degrades very slowly, polluting waterways for a very long
  time. In addition, plastic pollution impacts the health of aquatic animals
  because animals including zooplankton mistake the microbeads for food.
  Scientists also fear health impacts for humans.
• The United Nations celebrated
  World Oceans Day 2016 by recognizing the winners of the Annual World Oceans Day
  Oceanic Photo Competition at an event at the United Nations Headquarters.

• Forbes on 6 June 2016 released
  the list of World’s 100 Most Powerful Women of 2016 showing women who impacted
  businesses, media, philanthropy, politics and more.
• Four metrics: money (net worth,
  company revenues or GDP), media presence, spheres of influence, and impact,
  were analysed to prepare the list.

• The world’s most powerful woman
  in the list is German Chancellor Angela Merkel who fetched the first spot for
  the sixth consecutive year.
• The top three most powerful in
  the list are politicians: Germany’s Angela Merkel, U.S. presidential candidate
  Hillary Clinton and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
• Mary Barra, CEO of General
  Motors, tops the list in the automotive section.

• Four Indians have been named in
  Forbes list including Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chair-Managing Director of State
  Bank of India (SBI), who stood at 25th position.
• Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO of
  ICICI Bank, was placed at 40th position.
• Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw,
  Founder-chair of Biocon Limited, was placed at 77th position.
• Shobhana Bhartia, Chair, HT
  Media, was placed at 93rd position.

• The International Monetary Fund
  (IMF) on 7 June 2016 approved 1.5 billion US dollar loan to Sri Lanka. IMF has
  already transferred 168 million US dollars as the first Instalment with
  immediate effect to support the country’s economy.
• The Executive Board of the IMF
  accepted this 36-month extended arrangement under its Extended Fund Facility
  (EFF) with Sri Lanka under special drawing rights.
• An early disbursement of about
  168.1 million US dollars will be made immediately.
• The remaining amount will be
  settled in six installments on quarterly reviews.

• Viktor Korchnoi, regarded as one
  the greatest chess players, passed away on 6 June 2016 in Wohlen,
  Switzerland.  He was 85.
• Korchnoi played in three matches
  that produced the World Champion, but in each case lost to Anatoly Karpov. It
  made Korchnoi the strongest player never to have won the title.

• Amber Gurung, the legendary
  Nepali musician and composer of the country’s national anthem, died on 7 June
  2016. He was 78.
• He was suffering from diabetes
  and Parkinson’s disease.
• He was cremated in Kathmandu with
  full state honours, which was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence
  Minister Bhim Rawal. A contingent of the Nepal Army offered a final salute.

Regards

Team ExamPundit