Current Affairs Update – 15th June, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the important Current Affairs of 15th June, 2016. These are important for the upcoming SBI PO & SBI Clerk Mains Exams 2016.

• The Cabinet today gave go-ahead
  to the merger of State Bank of India (SBI) and its associate lenders that would
  make the state-owned lender a global-sized bank.
• India’s largest lender SBI had
  last month mooted the proposal for merger of its five subsidiary banks with
  itself and acquisition of the newly set up Bharatiya Mahila Bank.
• SBI has five associate lenders —
  State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of
  Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad.

• Businessman Vijay Mallya was on
  14 June 2016 declared as a Proclaimed Offender by a special court for the
  Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Mumbai in a loan diversion case.
• The court issued proclamation
  under Section 82 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) against Vijay Mallya.
• The move came after the
  Enforcement Directorate (ED), an investigation agency under the Union Finance
  Ministry, on 10 June 2016 filed a petition over a case where Mallya is
  suspected to have diverted a 430 crore rupees loan given by IDBI Bank Ltd to
  his Kingfisher Airlines Ltd.
• A person is termed as a
  proclaimed offender in a criminal investigation if the court believes that the
  accused has absconded or is concealing himself, so that the warrant cannot be
  executed.

• Foreign lender Barclays has now
  decided to focus on the financial technology space in India and has opened a
  fintech innovation platform. In this technology innovation hub, the lender is
  looking at partnering with various start-ups and will provide a physical site
  for fintech companies.
• This is Barclays’ sixth site
  globally, following London, Manchester, New York, Cape Town and Tel Aviv hubs.
• Barclays focus on the financial
  technology comes at a time when both the bank and the non-financial players are
  looking at this space actively. In fact, Nasscom predicts that the Indian
  fintech software market is estimated to grow by 1,7 times and cross $2 billion
  by 2020.
• Barclays is not the only one that
  is pushing the pedal on focusing on fintech innovations. Several other private
  sector lenders have also been focusing on this space. Recently, even HDFC Bank
  and ICICI Bank have tied up with fintech start-ups and are looking at working
  closely with them. Some other smaller lenders such as RBL and Federal Bank are
  also looking at investing in start-ups.

• The Union Ministry of Railways on
  14 June 2016 signed a Joint Venture (JV) Agreement with Odisha Government. The
  agreement was signed by VP Dudeja on behalf of Railways Ministry and Sanjay
  Rastogi, Pr Secretary of Transport, Odisha Government.

• The MoU envisages formation of a
  Joint Venture company having 51 percent stake of the State Government and 49
  percent stake of Ministry of Railways.
• The company will primarily
  identify projects and possible financing avenues in addition to Union
  Government and the State Government.
• After finances for a project are
  tied up, project specific special purpose vehicles shall be formed.
• These SPVs can have other stake
  holders from Industries, Central PSUs, State PSUs etc. However, the JV
  companies shall be  mandatory stake
  holders with minimum 26 percent shares in the SPVs.
• The Railways Ministry will also
  sign a concession agreement of 30 years with the project SPV for safe and sound
  operation, revenue sharing and providing technical & marketing logistics to
  the SPV.
• At the end of concession period,
  the railways will have option to take over the assets at a nominal price.

• Union Ministry of New and
  Renewable Energy (MNRE) on 15 June 2016 launched Scheme for setting up of 1000
  MW Wind Power Project connected to Central Transmission Utility (CTU)
  transmission network.
• The scheme has been launched with
  an objective to facilitate supply of wind power to the non-windy states at a
  price discovered through transparent bidding process.
• The launching of the scheme is in
  line with the Union Government’s ambitious target of achieving 175 GW power
  capacity from renewable energy resources by 2022. Out of 175 GW, 60 GW will
  come from wind power.

• It envisages building of 1000 MW
  CTU-connected Wind Power Project on build, own and operate (BOO) basis.
• The capacity may go higher than
  1000 MW, if there is higher demand from Discoms of non-windy states.
• Solar Energy Corporation of India
  (SECI) has been designated as nodal agency for implementation of the scheme.

• E-commerce major Flipkart on
  Tuesday announced the launch of laptop sale event “Lap it Up!” on its
  website in collaboration with Intel India.
• The campaign will offer latest
  laptop brands at some exciting prices with EMI option.

• The Union Cabinet on 15 June 2016
  gave its approval for Indian membership of the International Continental
  Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) consortium.
• The approval clears the path for
  signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the GFZ – Helmholtz Centre
  Potsdam (German Research Centre for geosciences). The GFZ is a
  government-funded, Public Law Foundation of the State of Brandenburg, Germany.
• The MoU, which will be in force
  for 5 years, will enable India in engaging internationally renowned experts
  with profound expertise in different aspects of scientific drilling.
• The deep drilling and associated
  investigations will be conducted in Koyna region in Maharashtra.
• As a part of the membership
  agreement, India will get a seat on two ICDP panels – Executive Committee (EC)
  and Assembly of Governors (AOG).

• Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
  on 12 June 2016 inaugurated Child Labour Tracking System (CLTS). The system was
  launched to keep a track of rescued child labour for their proper
  rehabilitation.
• Besides, CM Nitish Kumar also
  announced that he had in principle accepted the Charter of Demands submitted by
  the rescued child labour.
• A committee headed by Chief
  Secretary for implementation of children’s demands will also be set up.
• Every rescued child will be given
  25000 rupees from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
• The money will directly go to
  children’s bank account. The amount will instil a sense of confidence among the
  children.
• The money will be given to all
  those children who will be registered under the tracking system.

• Gujarat’s Shiyal Bet on 11 June
  2016 got electricity for the first time, after 70 years of Independence.
• State’s Chief Minister Anandiben
  Patel inaugurated the 18.35 crore rupees project to supply grid power to the
  island through marine cables.
• CM Patel also unveiled a plaque
  dedicating the electrification project to the public at a ceremony organised in
  the compound of the Government Secondary School in Shiyal Bet.
• The Shiyal Bet project is an
  important part of the Prime Minister’s target to electrify 18000 villages in
  India by mid-2018.

• The Union Government on 14 June
  2016 approved a series of measures for the abatement of pollution and for the
  conservation and preservation of lakes in Bengaluru.
• The decision to this effect was
  taken at a meeting jointly chaired by Union Minister of Chemicals &
  Fertilizers, Ananth Kumar and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for
  Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar.
• Under the decision, all Sewage
  Treatment Plants (STPs) of the city will be monitored online 24×7. Apart from
  this, lake water quality will be monitored by concerned authorities in
  Bengaluru.
• Some actions that have been
  agreed upon include:
• Bio-development of lakes of
  Bengaluru will be undertaken.
• Lakes will be restored in a
  bio-diverse manner in Public-Private Partnership mode.
• All residential group housing
  projects/apartments with >20 units and total build-up area of 2000 sq meter
  will have to install Sewage Treatment Plants (STP).

• Telangana government on 10 June
  2016 decided to set up of a Pharma City on 12500 acres of land in Rangareddy
  and Mahbubnagar districts of the state.
• Telangana has traditionally been
  the bulk drugs capital of India with almost one-third of the total production
  in value terms.
• The state government intends to
  facilitate setting up of the most modern facilities along with all necessary
  where withal in an integrated manner along with maintaining the leader status
  in the sector.
• Telangana State Industrial
  Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) shall send detailed project proposal (DPR)
  to the government on modalities for implementation and execution of project.
• It will also carry out all
  aspects related to the development of the park in a transparent manner duly
  following all relevant rules.
• The proposed park will have
  components and other related activities with regard to antibiotics,
  fermentation products, synthetic drugs, large volume chemical synthesis,
  intermediaries, vitamins, vaccines, drug formulations, nutraceuticals, herbal
  medicinal products, specialty chemicals, cosmetics among others.

• India, the United States and
  Japan on 10 June 2016 began the annual exercise Malabar 2016. This is the 20th
  edition of Malabar Exercise that will be conducted till 17 June 2016 .
• The main aim of this exercise is
  to boost the interoperability amongst the three navies and develop common
  understanding of procedures for Maritime Security Operations.
• Malabar 2016 will be conducted
  with the harbour phase at Sasebo and with the sea phase in the Pacific Ocean.
• The scope of MALABAR-16 includes
  professional interactions in harbour and a diverse range of activities at sea,
  including complex surface, sub-surface and air operations.

• The Union Cabinet on 15 June 2016
  gave its approval for signing of a 15 years contract by the Ministry of Earth
  Sciences with the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
• The contract seeks to undertake
  exploration and other developmental activities related to Polymetallic
  Sulphides in the allotted area of 10000 sq km.
• Under the contract, exploration
  will be done in parts of Central and South – West Indian Ridges (SWIR), located
  in the Indian Ocean.
• India’s exclusive rights for
  exploration of Polymetallic Sulphides in the allotted area will be formalized.
• It will enhance India’s presence
  in the Indian Ocean where other players like China, Korea and Germany are
  active.

• President Pranab Mukherjee has
  been accorded the highest honour of Cote D’Ivoirie by its President Alassane
  Ouattara on his maiden visit here.
• After an elaborate reception
  accorded at the airport, Mukherjee attended a banquet last evening hosted by
  Ouattara where he was accorded with Grand Cross National Order of the Republic
  of Cote D’Ivoirie in a simple ceremony in the President’s Palace.
• It is the first such honour
  accorded to Mukherjee, Press Secretary to the President Venu Rajamony said.
• He said while Mukherjee has
  received number of honorary degrees, it is first such honour accorded to him by
  a country.

• Shell Lubricants India has
  appointed Mansi Tripathy, the former CMO of Shell Lubricants, as the new managing
  director of the company.
• Tripathy would succeed Nitin
  Prasad, who moves on to take over as the chairman of Shell Companies in India with
  effect from August 1, 2016.
• Tripathy brings in 20-years of
  marketing, sales, insights and strategy experience to the office.
• In her new role, she will be
  responsible for leading all the business activities for the lubricants business
  in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Tripathy has been the architect of
  digital marketing & social media footprints for Shell Lubricants in India.

• Ministry of Chemicals and
  Fertilizers has asked the chairman and managing director (CMD) of National
  Fertilizers Limited (NFL) Manoj Mishra to take additional charge as Rashtriya
  Chemicals and Fertilizers’ (RCF) CMD.
• Consequent to this, R G Rajan has
  relinquished the charge of CMD of the company, with effect from June 14, 2016.

• The United Nations General
  Assembly (UNGA) on 13 June 2016 elected Peter Thomson, Permanent Representative
  of Fiji, as President of its upcoming 71st session.
• Thomson was elected in a rare
  secret ballot vote. He defeated Andreas Mavroyiannis of Cyprus by a
  secret-ballot vote of 94 to 90, with one abstention.
• The Fiji representative will
  replace current General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft.
• Thomson will begin his tenure in
  September 2016 at the commencement of the 71st General Assembly session.

• Gunit Chadha on 14 June 2016
  resigned as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asia Pacific region of Deutsche
  Bank AG. He will leave the office on 17 July 2016.
• Chadha joined Deutsche Bank in
  2003 as the CEO for the global lender’s India business.
• In 2012, he was elevated to
  co-CEO for its Asia Pacific business and later in October 2015 was appointed as
  CEO for the Asia Pacific.
• Under Chadha’s leadership,
  Deutsche Bank had started its investment banking, retail banking and
  institutional broking business in India.
• Prior to Deutsche Bank, he was
  CEO of IDBI Bank Ltd.

• World Blood Donors Day (WBDD)
  2016 was observed on 14 June 2016.
• The theme of the 2016 World Blood
  Donor Day campaign is Blood connects us all. The theme highlights the common
  bond that all people share in their blood.
• The slogan for 2016 WBDD is Share
  life, give blood. The slogan focuses on voluntary donation systems. The
  voluntary donation systems play a pivotal role in encouraging people to care
  for one another and promoting community cohesion.

• World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
  was observed globally on 15 June 2016. The day is observed to voice against
  abuse and suffering inflicted on older people.
• On this day, number of events is
  held across the globe to raise awareness of elder abuse and highlight ways to
  challenge such abuse.
• The global population of people
  aged 60-year and older will more than double, from 542 million in 1995 to about
  1.2 billion in 2025.

• Mahendra Singh Dhoni today became
  the fourth wicketkeeper in the world to reach 350 dismissals in One-day
  Internationals, while widening the gap further with his India predecessors.
• The limited overs skipper
  achieved the feat during the ongoing third and final ODI against Zimbabwe, when
  he caught Elton Chigumbura off medium pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the 33rd over of
  the innings at the Harare Sports Club.
• Dhoni has so far taken 261
  catches and effected 89 stumpings in 278 matches.
• Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara leads
  the list with 482 dismissals followed by Australian Adam Gilchrist and South
  Africa’s Mark Boucher with 472 and 424 dismissals respectively.
• As far as dismissals in the
  50-over format are concerned, Dhoni is the only Indian in the 300-club, which
  he scaled during an ODI against New Zealand in January 2014.

• The Rio 2016 organising committee
  revealed the official slogan for the first Olympic and Paralympic Games in
  South America— “A new world” — while also unveiling the medals, 52
  days from the start of the quadrennial extravaganza.
• Along with the Olympic torch, the
  medals and the mascots, the slogan plays a major part in creating the unique identity
  of each Olympic Games.
• For Rio 2016, the core values of
  the slogan and the manifesto are unity, respect for diversity and the will for
  change, reports Xinhua.

• With occupancy cost of $149.71
  (Rs 10,030) per sq ft, New Delhi’s Central Business District (CBD) of Connaught
  Place ranks as the seventh most expensive prime office market in the world,
  said a new study. Connaught Place was ranked sixth in the previous CBRE
  Research’s Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs bi-annual survey.
• Mumbai’s alternative business
  district of Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) came down from 18th to 19th position,
  according to the study while Nariman Point is at 34th position. Hong Kong
  (Central) ranked first at $290 per sq ft per annum.
• Global prime office occupancy
  costs — which reflect rent, plus local taxes and service charges for the
  highest-quality, prime office properties — rose 2.4% year-on-year. In Asia
  Pacific, prime office occupancy costs are growing at a faster pace than
  average, up 2.7% year-over-year. A few key Southeast Asian markets registered
  decreases, including Singapore and Jakarta, CBRE said today.

• Florida-based Stonegate Bank on
  14 June 2016 issued a new credit card that will allow Americans to use it in
  Cuba during their visit to the country. The card will help the US visitors to
  avoid the Cuban 10-percent penalty on the dollar.
• Pompano-beach based Stonegate is
  also the first US bank to introduce a debit card for use in Cuba.
• The bank announced that US
  travelers will be able to use its Mastercard to charge purchases at Cuban
  state-run businesses and some private businesses, starting 15 June 2016.

• Distinguished Hindi writer,
  activist, thinker and cultural personality Mudrarakshasa passed away on 13 June
  2016 following a prolonged illness in Lucknow. He was 82.
• He was the editor of Anuvrata, a
  Calcutta based magazine.
• He worked as Editor at All India
  Radio from 1962 to 1976.
• His works of theatrical criticism
  includes Rang Bhumikayen and a book on Nemichandra Jain.
• He has about thirty stage
  productions to his credit.

Regards

Team ExamPundit