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.
Current Affairs at a Glance – 15th June, 2016
  1. 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.
  2. 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. 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.
  3. The Union Ministry of Railways on 14 June 2016 signed a Joint Venture (JV) Agreement with Odisha
    Government
    .
  4. 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
    .
  5. E-commerce major Flipkart
    on Tuesday announced the launch of laptop sale event “Lap it Up!” on its website
    in collaboration with Intel India.
  6. 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.
  7. Gujarat’s Shiyal Bet on 11 June 2016 got electricity for the first
    time, after 70 years of Independence
    .
  8. 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
    .
  9. 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.
  10. 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 .
  11. President Pranab Mukherjee has been accorded the highest honour “Grand Cross
    National Order of the Republic of Cote D’Ivoirie
    ” of Cote D’Ivoirie by its President
    Alassane Ouattara on his maiden visit.
  12. Shell Lubricants India
    has appointed Mansi
    Tripathy
    , the former CMO of Shell Lubricants, as the new managing director of the company.
  13. 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
    .
  14. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 13 June 2016 elected Peter
    Thomson
    , Permanent Representative of Fiji, as President of its upcoming 71st
    session
    .
  15. Gunit Chadha on 14 June 2016 resigned as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asia Pacific region of
    Deutsche Bank AG
    .
  16. World
    Blood Donors Day (WBDD) 2016 was observed on 14
    June 2016
    .
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.

Finance/Banking/Industry –
Cabinet approves merger of 5 associate banks with SBI

  • 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.

Vijay Mallya declared as Proclaimed Offender by Money Laundering Court

  • 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.

Barclays launches platform for fintech start-ups

  • 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.

Union Ministry of Railways signs JV Agreement with Odisha Government

  • 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.

Highlights of the JV Agreement
  • 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 Government launches Scheme for setting up 1000 MW Wind Power
Project connected to CTU

  • 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.

Key features of the Scheme
  • 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.

Flipkart collaborates with Intel India for ‘Lap it Up’
  • 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.

India’s membership of the International Continental Scientific Drilling
Program approved
  • 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).

India –
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated Child Labour Tracking
System

  • 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 gets power after 70 years of Independence

  • 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.

Union Government approves Measures for Conservation & Preservation
of Lakes in Bengaluru

  • 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 to set up pharmaceutical city in Rangareddy and
Mahbubnagar districts

  • 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.

Joint Naval Exercise Malabar 2016 begins

  • 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.

India, ISA contract for exploration of Polymetallic Sulphides approved
  • 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.

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Awards & Honors –
Pranab Mukherjee awarded highest honour by of Cote D’Ivoirie

  • 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.

Appointments/Resignations –
Shell Lubricants India appoints Mansi Tripathy as MD

  • 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.

Manoj Mishra takes charge as RCF’s CMD
  • 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.

Peter Thomson of Fiji elected as President of 71st session of United
Nations General Assembly

  • 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 resigns as CEO of Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific Region

  • 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.

Days –
World Blood Donors Day 2016 observed with theme Blood connects us all

  • 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 observed

  • 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.

Sports –
Dhoni became the fourth wicketkeeper in the world to reach 350
dismissals milestone in ODI

  • 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.

Rio 2016 unveils official slogan for Olympic and Paralympic Games

  • 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.

Lists –
Connaught Place world’s seventh most expensive office market

  • 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.

World –
Florida’s Stonegate Bank to issue first US credit card for use in Cuba
  • 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.

Obituaries –
Renowned Hindi writer Mudrarakshasa passes away
  • 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.

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This post was last modified on July 19, 2019 2:05 pm