Current Affairs Update – 24th June, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the Important Current Affairs of 24th June, 2016. These are important for the upcoming SBI PO Mains 2016.

Current Affairs at a Glance – 24th June, 2016

  1. Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday said it has
    approved $500 million (approximately Rs 3,350 crore) loan for constructing a
    bridge across Ganga
    in Bihar.
  2. People of Britain in a historic
    referendum on 24 June 2016 voted in favour
    of leaving European Union (EU)
    . The referendum ‘to leave’ or ‘to
    be a member’ of EU saw 51.9% votes in favour compared to 48.1% in against.
  3. The Prime Minister of United
    Kingdom David
    Cameron
    on 24 June 2016 announced
    his
    resignation hours after the Brexit vote that favoured leaving the European
    Union (EU)
    .
  4. The scientists in June 2016
    unveiled a microchip, named KiloCore, containing 1000 independent
    programmable processors.
  5. The Union Government on 23 June 2016 launched India’s first pilot programme to run two wheelers on Compressed Natural
    Gas (CNG) in New Delhi
    . The first of its kind programme was
    launched by Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural
    Gas, and Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State for Environment, Forests &
    Climate Change.
  6. Defence Research & Development
    Organisation (DRDO)
    has signed a
    memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Jadavpur University (JU), Kolkata, to establish the Jagadish Chandra Bose Centre for Advanced
    Technology (JCBCAT)
    .
  7. The Padma Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park
    in Darjeeling
    will soon receive a
    snow leopard
    from Dudley Zoological Gardens in London.
  8. An Indian social entrepreneur, Zubaida Bai,
    the founder of ‘ayzh’ has been named among 10 “champions and
    pioneers” by UN Chief Ban Ki-moon under the world’s largest corporate
    sustainability initiative
    that calls on companies to align with
    universal principles of human rights, environment and anti-corruption.
  9. Nokia on Friday announced the appointment of Sanjay
    Malik as the head of Indian market
    , effective August 1.
  10. Neil O’Brien, the pioneer of
    quizzing in India, passed away on Friday at his home in Kolkata. O’Brien
    conducted the first well-organized, formal quiz in 1967 at Christ the King
    Church Parish Hall in Calcutta.
Finance –
ADB extends $500 million loan for Ganga bridge in Bihar
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB) on
    Friday said it has approved $500 million (approximately Rs 3,350 crore) loan
    for constructing a bridge across Ganga.
  • Once built, the 9.8 km road
    bridge in Bihar will be country’s longest river bridge and would provide vital
    transport links between the northern and southern parts of the state and also
    with neighbouring country Nepal, ADB said in a release.
  • The project will run for about 4
    years with an expected completion date of the end of December 2020, the
    statement added.
  • The bridge that is expected to
    benefit over nine million or ninety lakh people looking for job opportunities
    on either side, the official release said.
  • Along with ADB’s loan and
    $900,000 (approximately Rs 6 crore) in technical assistance to improve bridge
    operation and management, Bihar government will provide support equivalent to
    $215 million (approximately Rs 1,460 crore).
World –
Britain votes to exit European Union in historic referendum
  • People of Britain in a historic
    referendum on 24 June 2016 voted in favour of leaving European Union (EU). The
    referendum ‘to leave’ or ‘to be a member’ of EU saw 51.9% votes in favour
    compared to 48.1% in against.
  • Referendum turnout was higher
    than at 2015 general election.
  • Northern Ireland, London and
    Scotland voted strongly to stay back with the EU while the Wales and the
    English shires backed Britain exit (Brexit) from the EU.
  • According to Brexit campaigners,
    concerns about the costs of continued EU membership far outweigh any worries
    about leaving.
Impact of Brexit
  • Prime Minister David Cameron
    announced his resignation from his position.
  • The pound fell to its lowest
    level against the dollar since 1985 as the markets reacted to the results. It
    fell by 3% within moments of the first result showing a strong result for Leave
    in Sunderland and fell as much as 6.5% against the euro.
Impact on India
  • The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex
    index fell as much as 4.04 percent or 1090.9 points in early trade to a day’s
    low of 25,911.33 points.
  • The Indian rupee fell to 68.14
    against the dollar, its lowest level since February 2016, later it crawled to
    67.79.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced resignation after Brexit vote
  • The Prime Minister of United
    Kingdom David Cameron on 24 June 2016 announced his resignation hours after the
    Brexit vote that favoured leaving the European Union (EU).
  • During the campaign, Cameron-led
    Conserve Party advocated for remaining with the EU. In the referendum that was
    held on 23 June 2016, 51.89 percent of the voters preferred to leave the EU.
  • Among the 46.5 million people who
    registered to vote, only 48.11 percent voted to remain in the grouping.
    However, the result must still be approved by the UK Parliament to become
    effective.
Scientists developed KiloCore, world’s first 1000-processor computer
chip
  • The scientists in June 2016
    unveiled a microchip, named KiloCore, containing 1000 independent programmable
    processors. The chip has been designed by a team at the University of California,
    Davis, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
  • The KiloCore was presented at the
    2016 Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits in Honolulu on 16 June 2016.
Key features of KiloCore
  • The energy-efficient chip has a
    maximum computation rate of 1.78 trillion instructions per second.
  • It contains 621 million
    transistors.
  • It was fabricated by IBM using
    their 32 nm CMOS technology.
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India –
Union Government launched India’s first pilot programme to run two
wheelers on CNG

  • The Union Government on 23 June
    2016 launched India’s first pilot programme to run two wheelers on Compressed
    Natural Gas (CNG) in New Delhi.
  • The first of its kind programme
    was launched by Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural
    Gas, and Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State for Environment, Forests &
    Climate Change.
Key highlights of the programme

  • The programme is implemented by
    Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) and GAIL (India) Limited.
  • The programme is implemented
    under Hawa Badlo movement, which is supported by GAIL. The movement is a
    people’s initiative to fight air pollution.
  • The programme involves 50 CNG
    retrofitted two wheelers.
  • The scooters are being
    retrofitted with CNG kit manufactured by Ituk Manufacturing India Pvt. Ltd.
DRDO ties up with Jadavpur University for defence technology

  • Defence Research &
    Development Organisation (DRDO) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
    with Jadavpur University (JU), Kolkata, to establish the Jagadish Chandra Bose
    Centre for Advanced Technology (JCBCAT).
  • Research contributions made to
    DRDO by Jadavpur University and existing research potential in the university
    led to establishing this centre of excellence. The MoU will facilitate DRDO and
    the Jadavpur University to pursue collaborative advanced research.
  • The JCBCAT will primarily
    undertake research in areas of secure systems and cognitive technologies,
    directed energy, unmanned and robotics technologies and other futuristic
    technologies.
Darjeeling Zoo to receive snow leopard from London’s Dudley Zoological
Gardens

  • The Padma Naidu Himalayan
    Zoological Park in Darjeeling will soon receive a snow leopard from Dudley
    Zoological Gardens in London.
  • The leopard, named Makalu, is
    expected to make arrival at the Kolkata airport in an Emeritus Flight on the
    morning of 24 June 2016. Makalu will then be transported to the zoo.
  • Makalu, who gets his name from
    the world’s fifth highest peak on the south-east side of the Everest, was born
    at the Black Country zoo.
Union Government approved setting up of District Level Advisory and
Monitoring Committees

  • Union Ministry of Urban
    Development on 22 June 2016 approved the setting up of District Level Advisory
    and Monitoring Committees to promote people centric planning and execution of
    new urban development schemes.
  • These committees will comprise of
    elected representatives of the country, thus giving Members of Parliament (MP)
    and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) a say in the implementation of the
    urban development schemes.
  • In a first of its kind, these
    Committees will oversee, review and monitor implementation of urban
    development, affordable housing and urban poverty alleviation programmes.
Programmes to be monitored

  1. Swachh Bharat Mission
  2. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and
    Urban Transformation (AMRUT)
  3. Heritage City Development and
    Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)
  4. Pradhan Mantri Awas
    Yojana-Housing for All (Urban) and
  5. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National
    Urban Livelihoods Mission
Terms of Reference of Committees

  • To promote effective citizen
    involvement
  • To review improvements in service
    level indicators like water supply,
  • Review progress of implementation
    of reforms with focus on e-governance and ease of sanctioning of construction
    permits,
  • Advise state and central
    governments regarding bottlenecks in implementation,
  • Suggest mid-course correction in
    implementation
  • Facilitate coordination among
    various agencies
Awards & Honors –
Indian Social Entrepreneur Zubaida Bai bags UN honour for corporate
sustainability initiative

  • An Indian social entrepreneur has
    been named among 10 “champions and pioneers” by UN Chief Ban Ki-moon
    under the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative that calls on
    companies to align with universal principles of human rights, environment and
    anti-corruption.
  • Zubaida Bai, the founder of
    ‘ayzh’, a for-profit social venture providing health and livelihood solutions
    to impoverished women worldwide, was named among the 10 ‘2016 Global Compact
    SDG Pioneers’, an initiative launched by UN to search for “entrepreneurs”
    who can play a pivotal role.
  • The UN Global Compact, the
    world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, supports companies to do
    business responsibly by aligning their strategies and operations with ten
    principles of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption; and to
    take strategic actions to advance broader societal goals, such as the UN
    Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with an emphasis on collaboration and
    innovation.
  • Ban announced the 10 pioneers at
    the Global Compact Leaders Summit in the city this week.
IIT-Kanpur professor Sanjay Mittal awarded with G D Birla Award for
Scientific Research for 2015

  • IIT-Kanpur professor Sanjay
    Mittal in third week of June 2016 bagged the prestigious G D Birla Award for
    Scientific Research for 2015.
  • Mittal was instrumental in
    establishing the High Performance Computing (HPC) facility at IIT Kanpur and
    heads the National Wind Tunnel Facility.
Artemi Panarin wins 2015-2016 Calder Memorial Trophy

  • Russian hockey winger Artemi
    Panarin, playing for the Chicago Blackhawks, on 22 June 2016 won the 2015-2016
    Calder Memorial Trophy. The announcement was made by the US National Hockey
    League (NHL).
  • In the selection process, Panarin
    received votes on all 150 ballots and was the top choice on 88 for 1258 voting
    points. He was followed by Shayne Gostisbehere of the Philadelphia Flyers (955)
    and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (858).
Appointments –
Nokia appoints Sanjay Malik India head

  • Nokia on Friday announced the
    appointment of Sanjay Malik as the head of Indian market, effective August 1.
  • Malik is currently Head of
    Network Implementation (NI) at Nokia Global Services and is credited with
    efficiently driving growth and delivering strong performance both in terms of
    revenue and operational efficiency, the company said in a statement here.
  • In his new role, he will lead
    customer operations, drive the business growth strategy and superior customer
    engagement services for the India market. He will be based in Gurgaon.
Obituaries –
Neil O’Brien, India’s first quizmaster, dies

  • Neil O’Brien, the pioneer of
    quizzing in India, passed away on Friday at his home in Kolkata. His death was
    announced by his son and Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien.
  • West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
    Banerjee and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have expressed their
    condolences.
  • A former member of Lok Sabha, the
    senior O’Brien was also a three-time nominated Anglo-Indian MLA in West Bengal
    and an educationist.
  • He was the chairman of the
    Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) and managing
    director of Oxford University Press, India.
  • As a leader of the Anglo-Indian
    community, he was the president-in-chief of All-India Anglo-Indian Association
    and headed the Frank Anthony group of schools.
  • O’Brien conducted the first
    well-organized, formal quiz in 1967 at Christ the King Church Parish Hall in
    Calcutta.
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