Current Affairs Update – 26th June, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 26th June, 2015. These are Important for the Upcoming SBI PO Mains Exam and RBI Assistant 2015 Exam.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to allow Authorised Dealer Category I (AD Category-I) Banks to borrow foreign currency from International/Multinational Financial Institutions (IFIs/MFIs).
• In this regard, a notification was issued by the RBI on 25 June 2015.
• Earlier, AD Cat-I Banks were allowed to borrow from IFIs/MFIs for a short period in 2013 with prior permission from the RBI on a case-by-case basis.
• In contrast, as per the recent notification, the banks can borrow without any such prior approvals from the RBI.
• However, these shall include only those IFIs in which the Government of India is a shareholding member or which have been established by more than one government or have shareholding by more than one government and other international organizations.
• Further, such borrowings should be for the purpose of general banking business and not for capital augmentation.
• Authorised Dealer Category -I Banks (AD Category–I Banks) is one of the three types of Authorised Money Changers (AMCs) approved by the RBI under Section 10 of the Foreign Exchange Management (FEMA) Act, 1999.
• An AMC is a Full Fledged Money Changer (FFMC) permitted to deal in foreign exchange for specified purposes.
• Other two AMCs are: Authorised Dealers Category - II (ADs Category–II) and Full Fledged Money Changers (FFMCs).
• At present 102 entities are recognised as AD Category–I Banks including State Bank of India, Canara Bank and Axis Bank Ltd.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 25 June 2015 released the Financial Stability Report (FSR) June 2015. It is the eleventh issue of its half yearly publication.
• The FSR reflected the collective assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on risks to financial stability, as also the resilience of the financial system.
• Besides, the report discussed issues relating to development and regulation of the financial sector.

• Export-Import (Exim) Bank has extended a line of credit of USD 268.35 million to Tanzania for financing extension of Lake Victoria pipeline.
• With this agreement, Exim Bank has now in place 198 LOCs, covering 63 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, Oceania and the CIS, with credit commitments of over USD 12.10 billion, available for financing exports from India.
• Further, Exim Bank has also extended buyer's credit under National Export Insurance Account (NEIA) of USD 29.61 million to Tanzania to finance supply of 777 vehicles from India.
• It will also cover financing of spares and training in operation and maintenance to the Department of Police Force, Ministry of Home Affairs, Tanzania.
• Till date, the bank has sanctioned an aggregate amount of USD 2.33 billion for 19 projects valued USD 3.75 billion under the BC-NEIA.

• The Andhra Pradesh Mining Development Corporation (APMDC) 24 June 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an Australian firm NSL Mining Resources India Pvt Ltd for beneficiation of low-grade iron ore in Kurnool and Kadapa districts.
• The beneficiation of low-grade iron ore process includes separation of the required mineral from extracted ore and removal of the unusable part.
• The MoU was signed during AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's meeting with an Australian delegation led by Steven Ciobo, Parliamentary Secretary to the Australian Trade and Investment Minister.
• NSL Mining Resources India Pvt Ltd is a subsidiary of Australian NSL Consolidated Ltd while APMDC works under the Andhra Pradesh Government.

• Two-day long annual Hemis festival dedicated to the Guru Padmasambhava began on 26 June 2015 in largest monastery of Ladakh Hemis Gompa (monastery) of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Hemis festival is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava. During this festive season, Lamas called 'chhams,' perform masked dances and sacred plays to the accompaniment of cymbals, drums and long horns. The head lama presides over the function.
• The festival takes an auspicious turn every 12 years in the Tibetan Year of the Monkey, when the two-storey high Thanka depicting Padmasambhava is displayed.

• Union Government on 25 June 2015 requested the Chief Ministers of Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan to encourage supply of free milk in the Mid Day Meal to school children.
• Milk Products will be provided with an aim to increase the nutritional level in the Mid Day Meal for school children.
• The decision was made in a review meeting in which it was found that the State Milk Federations of these states have surplus stock of skimmed milk powder.
• In relation to supply of free milk products to students, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has written a letter to these states.

• The four-day long Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhaya Devi temple at Guwahati, Assam concluded on 26 June 2015. With this, the door of the Shakti shrine at Nilachal hillock was re-opened for devotees.
• The Ambubachi Mela also known as Ambubachi Festival that started on 23 June 2015 was visited by around 7 lakh 50 thousand pilgrims from various parts of the world.

• Satnam Singh Bhamara became the first Indian basketball player to be drafted in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after being picked by Dallas Mavericks here.
• The 19-year-old, who hails from a remote village in Punjab and stands 7 feet 2 inches tall, was the 52nd pick in the NBA Draft.
• Satnam Singh was selected amongst the 60 young men who will play basketball in the NBA next season.
• Gursimran “Sim” Bhullar was the first player of Indian origin to play in the NBA when he turned out for the Kings in three games in April.
• Since their inaugural 1980-81 season, The Dallas Mavericks have won three division titles (1987, 2007, 2010), two conference championships (2006, 2011), and one NBA Championship (2011).

• India’s tennis player Leander Paes on 24 June 2015 became the 47th player to play with 100 different partners on ATP Circuit.
• The 42-year-old achieved this land mark feat when he joined Marcel Granollers of Spain in a match against Treat Huey and Scott Lipsky at the Aegon Open in Nottingham, the UK.
• Of these 100 partners, While 71 played with him on the tour level, 29 at the Challenger level.
• Among all the partners, Paes had been most successful with his Indian partner Mahesh Bhuapthi with whom he won three of his eight men’s doubles Grand Slam titles.
• He won two each with Radek Stepanek and Lukas Dlouhy and one with Martin Damm. Incidentally, all of them are from Czech Republic.

• The 28th Moortidevi Award for 2014 has gone to the work Vyomkesh Darvesh written by noted Hindi writer Vishwanath Tripathi.
• The award was announced after a selection board with illustrious personalities met at the India International Centre here today under the chairmanship of M Veerappa Moily.
• The fictional biography Vyomkesh Darvesh is of noted Hindi critic Hazariprasad Dwivedi, considered a doyen of Hindi language.
• Born on February 16, 1931 in Bishkohar village of district Basti in Uttar Pradesh, Tripathi was a student of the Banaras Hindu University and Panjab University.
• He has penned a number of unique works that include Lokwadi Tulsidas, Meera Ka Kavya, Desh ke is Daur Main, Kuch Kahaniyan Kuch Vichar, Ped Ka Hath, Jaisa Kaha Saka and Nagatlai Ka Gaon.
• The Moortidevi Award constituted by the Bhartiya Jnanpith is presented annually for a "contemplative and perceptive work which expresses, underlines and illumines human values rooted in the broad vision of Indian philosophy and cultural heritage."
• Books written in English and all Indian languages are considered for the Prize, which comprises a cash award of Rs four lakhs, a statue and a citation plaque.
• Apart from Moily, the selection board members include Thankamoni Amma, Kedarnath Singh, Sheenkaf Nizam, Veer Sagar Jain, Jayant Parmar, Bishnu N Mohapatra, Prabhakar Shrotriya and Leeladhar Mandloi.

• Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson today appointed Paolo Colella as India Head with effect from September 1.
• Colella succeeds Chris Houghton who will assume the role as Head of North East Asia region, the company said in a statement.
• Colella, who assumes his new role effective September 1, has been responsible for Ericsson's consulting and systems integration practise globally for around six years.
• Prior to this, he worked as Executive VP Sales and Marketing at Ericsson United Kingdom. He joined Ericsson in 2001 as Vice President - Global Services at Ericsson Italia and since then has held different positions within sales and marketing, services and key account management.

• A team of scientists led by Indian-American Debashis Chanda from University of Central Florida (UCF) developed a nature-inspired technique for creating the world's first full-colour, flexible thin-film reflective display. The findings were published in Nature Communications journal on 11 June 2015.
• This technology can help you switch your dress colour to a different colour in the blink of an eye, if someone at a wedding reception is wearing the same dress as yours.

• The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was on 26 June 2015 observed globally with the theme Let’s Develop our Lives, our Communities, our identities without Drugs.
• This important day was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 7 December 1987 to help create a society free of illegal drugs and drug abuse.  Each year the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) selects a theme for the day.
• The day is observed internationally by various countries by spreading awareness about Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking through events and programmes.

• Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, whose career included journalism, diplomacy and spycraft, has died at age 85.
• The Kremlin said on Friday that President Vladimir Putin has offered condolences to Primakov’s family. The cause of death wasn’t immediately known.
• Primakov had deep experience in the Middle East, where he worked as a correspondent for the Soviet daily Pravda, and both Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Mr. Putin used him as point man to try to head off wars with Iraq. As Premier, he sought but failed to prevent NATO from bombing Yugoslavia in the war over Kosovo.
• But Primakov was more influential at home, and in 1999 was widely seen as a likely successor to Boris Yeltsin as President, before being undermined by negative television coverage orchestrated by supporters of Mr. Putin.

Regards



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