Current Affairs Update – 29th June, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 29th June, 2015. These are Important for the upcoming SBI PO Mains 2015 and RBI Assistant 2015 Exams.

Finance/Banking
HDFC Bank launches
’30-min auto’, ’15-min 2-wheeler’ loans

  • Country’s second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on
    Monday launched ’30-min auto’ and ’15-min 2-wheeler’ loan schemes, for which
    customers have to provide only their biometric details.
  • “The 30-minute auto loan is available for HDFC Bank
    customers, as well as others. With this technology-enabled solution, loans for
    two-wheelers can also be approved within 15 minutes,” the Bank said in a
    release.
  • Any person willing to avail a loan can walk into an auto
    dealership or any other touch points of the bank and provide the Aadhaar card number
    and fingerprint, it said.
  • If eligible, based on the profile, the loan will then be
    approved with minimal documentation required from the customer within record
    time, it added.
  • The 30-minute auto loan and 15-minute two-wheeler loan is
    the latest initiative in HDFC Bank’s digital banking offering christened Go
    Digital.

GFH Financial Group
signed pact with Adani Group for developing Mumbai Economic Zone
  • Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group on 28 June 2015 signed an
    agreement with Indian conglomerate Adani Group for developing a Mumbai Economic
    Development Zone (MEDZ).
  • Under the agreement, the GFH’s unit Energy City Navi Mumbai
    (ECNM) and Adani Group will work together in creating the master plan for the
    lands of Phases II and III of the project, which will offer world class
    business infrastructure for local and international services including IT
    companies.
  • The financial group’s two units ECNM and Mumbai IT and
    Telecom City (MITTC) are two core components of the Mumbai Economic Development
    Zone (MEDZ). While, Adani Group will develop core infrastructure on these lands
    and will also commence the pre-sales and construction works on the site.

India
Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa
launched first phase of Chennai Metro Rail Service

  • The first phase of Chennai Metro Rail service was on 29 June
    2015 launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The first phase of
    Metro service covers the 10-km elevated stretch. It connects Alandur in south
    Chennai to Koyabedu in the north.
  • The whole project is implemented by Chennai Metro Rail
    Limited (CMRL). The project was approved by then Congress-led UPA government in
    2009.
  • With launching of this Metro service, Chennai became seventh
    city in India to have metro service including Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bangalore,
    Kolkata and Jaipur.
  • The two corridors of Phase-1 of Chennai Metro Rail cost
    16500 Cr. rupees to the state and will cover a 45-km stretch in the city.
  • Designed as half underground and the rest elevated, corridor
    1 is between Washermanpet and the airport. While, corridor 2 is from Chennai
    Central to St Thomas Mount and is likely to be ready by the 2015 end.

After Maggi, Top
Ramen withdrawn from Indian market

  • After Maggi controversy, Indo Nissin today announced
    withdrawal of its instant noodles brand ‘Top Ramen’ from the Indian market on
    orders from central food safety regulator FSSAI.
  • Earlier this month, Nestle had to recall Maggi noodles,
    while Hindustan Unilever also withdrew its Knorr instant noodles brand over
    safety and regulatory issues.
  • On June 8, FSSAI had come out with the advisory on product
    safety testing of all instant noodle products in India after lead beyond
    permissible limits in Maggi noodles along with taste enhancer Monosodium
    glutamate (MSG).

Yoga Made Compulsory
for 10-Lakh Strong Central Forces
  • Daily yoga has now been made compulsory for the 10
    lakh-strong central paramilitary forces as part of their physical drill.
  • A directive issued to the Central Armed Police Forces
    (CAPFs) by the Union Home Ministry said they should also ensure that Yoga is
    practised even at active duty areas like border posts and those in the Left
    Wing Extremism affected states of the country.
  • The CAPFs were directed to implement the Yoga drill on a
    “priority” and that an action taken report be also submitted.
  • The directive has been issued to the six CAPFs like Central
    Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force,
    Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, National Security Guard
    and the Assam Rifles which work under the command of the Union Home Ministry.

World
50 countries signed
Articles of Agreement for China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
  • Delegates of 50 countries on 29 June 2015 signed the
    60-article agreement that will lay the legal framework for the China-initiated
    Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
  • Australia was first to sign the agreement at the Great Hall
    of the People in the Chinese capital Beijing.
  • Out of the 57 founder-member countries, the remaining seven
    – Denmark, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Holland and South Africa and Thailand
    could not sign the agreement as it was not ratified by their respective
    domestic authorities.
  • The agreement outlined the financial share of each member,
    policymaking, business and operational systems and governance structure of the
    AIIB.

Member countries
of AIIB
  • China, India, Russia, Britain, France, Australia, Germany,
    Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Singapore, South Korea, Qatar, Oman,
    Pakistan, Bangladesh, Denmark, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Holland, South
    Africa, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Cambodia, Egypt, Finland, Georgia,
    Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos,
    Maldives, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, The Netherlands, New Zealand,
    Norway, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tajikistan,
    Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uzbekistan and Vietnam
  • The number of member countries in the bank is expected to
    increase to about 70, exceeding the 67-member ADB.

June 30 Will Have an
Extra Second: NASA

  • June 30 this year will officially be a bit longer than usual
    because an extra second, or ‘leap’ second, will be added to the day, according
    to NASA.
  • A day lasts 86,400 seconds. That is the case, according to
    the time standard that people use in their daily lives – Coordinated Universal
    Time, or UTC.
  • UTC is “atomic time” – the duration of one second
    is based on extremely predictable electromagnetic transitions in atoms of
    cesium. These transitions are so reliable that the cesium clock is accurate to
    one second in 1,400,000 years.
  • However, the mean solar day – the average length of a day,
    based on how long it takes Earth to rotate – is about 86,400.002 seconds long.
  • That’s because Earth’s rotation is gradually slowing down a
    bit, due to a kind of braking force caused by the gravitational tug of war
    between Earth, the Moon and the Sun.
  • Scientists estimate that the mean solar day has not been
    86,400 seconds long since the year 1820 or so.
  • This difference of 2 milliseconds, or two thousandths of a
    second – far less than the blink of an eye – hardly seems noticeable at first.

Sri Lanka’s President
Maithripala Sirisena dissolved Parliament
  • Sri Lankan President, Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the
    Parliament on 26 June 2015. Sirisena signed a gazette notification dissolving
    parliament in an effort to consolidate power and push through political
    reforms.
  • Sirisena dissolved the parliament within 160 days after
    assuming his office in January 2015. This dissolution ends the term of the
    coalition government that was appointed for a period of 100-days after the
    presidential election. The date of dissolution was extended to implement
    Constitutional reforms.
  • To elect a new Parliament, elections will be held on 17
    August 2015.

SpaceX Falcon-9
rocket broke apart in flames minutes after lifting off from Cape Canaveral
  • An unmanned American SpaceX rocket dubbed Falcon-9 broke
    apart in flames minutes after lifting off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 28
    June 2015. The accident occurred in only two and half minutes after the launch.
  • According to Elon Musk, SpaceX founder and chief,
    pressurization in the liquid-oxygen tank of the rocket was the main cause of
    the blast.
  • The rocket, which had 18 straight successes prior to this
    accident, was in the process of sending a cargo ship to the International Space
    Station (ISS). The rocket was heading to ISS to bring food and supplies,
    including a robotic Dragin cargo capsule.

Sports
Ajinkya Rahane to
lead squad for Zimbabwe tour

  • Ajinkya Rahane will lead a 15-man India squad for the
    Zimbabwe tour. Many senior players have been rested for the tour.
  • Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh staged a comeback to the
    ODI squad after a gap of four years as a second-string team was today named for
    next month’s tour of Zimbabwe.
  • Batsman Robin Uthappa also made a return to the ODI side,
    while paceman Sandeep Sharma and leg-spinner Karn Sharma were included in the team
    to be captained by Rahane.
  • Opener Murali Vijay, Ambati Rayudu and Bhuvneshwar Kumar
    were among the senior players picked in the squad announced by BCCI Secretary
    Anurag Thakur after the selection committee meeting here.
  • Manoj Tiwary, who had been struggling with injuries for some
    time, has been recalled into the side largely benefitting from the absence of
    the senior players.

Vijender Turns
Professional, Ends Amateur Career and Olympic Hopes

  • Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender Singh, the country’s most
    celebrated boxer, today bid adieu to his amateur career by turning professional,
    ruling himself out of next year’s Olympics as he no longer remains eligible to
    represent India.
  • The biggest name in Indian boxing by a mile after he became
    the first to bag an Olympic medal — the 29-year-old today signed a multi-year
    agreement with Queensberry Promotions through IOS Sports and Entertainment,
    that will see the middleweight fight a minimum of six times in the first year.
  • Vijender’s professional plunge means he would not be
    representing India at the Olympics and national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu has
    said that it is bad news for the team overall.
  • The International Boxing Association (AIBA) rules on boxers
    joining professional leagues other than the ones promoted by AIBA clearly state
    that they become ineligible for amateur competitions.
  • One of India’s most successful amateur boxers ever, Vijender
    was also the country’s first to win a medal at the World Championships when he
    clinched a bronze in 2009.
  • He won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games besides silver
    medals at the 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Games; a bronze at the 2006 Asian
    Games and the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
  • The 29-year-old from Haryana will now base himself in
    Manchester, England, under renowned trainer Lee Beard, who has previously
    worked with British boxing legend Ricky Hatton.

Gutta-Ponappa won
women’s doubles of Canada Open Badminton tournament 2015

  • Indian pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwni Ponappa on 28 June
    2015 won the women’s doubles of Canada Open Badminton tournament 2015. In the
    final played at Calgary, the third seeded Indian pair defeated top Dutch pair
    of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek in straight games of 21-19, 21-16.
  • This was first title of the 2015 season for Gutta and
    Ponappa.

Other Results
  1. Men’s Singles: Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) defeated Ng Ka Long
    Angus (Hong Kong)
  2. Women’s singles: Michelle Li (Canada) defeated Kaori
    Imabeppu (Japan)
  3. Mixed Doubles: Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen (China) defeated
    Kaixiang Huang and Sijie Wang (China)

Books
& Authors –
Transcendence: My
Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji written by Abdul Kalam

  • Book titled Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with
    Pramukh Swamiji authored by former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari
    was released on 15 June 2015.
  • In Transcendence, the authors Dr Kalam and Arun Tiwari have
    mapped a journey of self-realization reflected in the eyes of Pramukh Swamiji,
    painting a delightful fusion of spirituality, science and leadership. His
    candid vignettes (literature) from life on the centre stage of Indian
    technology and societal missions, Indian politics and world affairs are
    interwoven with revelations of a profound connection with Swamiji.

Dealing with China:
An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower by Henry M Paulson
  • Book titled Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New
    Economic Superpower authored by Henry M. Paulson was released on 14 April 2015.
  • The book takes the reader behind closed doors to witness the
    creation and evolution and future of China’s state-controlled capitalism.

Awards
& Honors –
President conferred
Punyabhushan Award on Prataprao Pawar

  • President Pranab Mukharjee on 26 June 2015 conferred
    Punyabhushan Award on Prataprao Pawar, Chairman of Sakal Media Group (SMG) at Balgandharva
    Auditorium in Pune.
  • Pawar is the 27th recipient of the Punyabhushan award and
    his name was selected for the award by a committee led by scientist Raghunath
    Mashelkar.
  • The Punyabhushan (Pride of Pune) award constituted by
    Tridal, Pune is annually announced by the Punyabhushan Foundation on 23 March
    with a view to commemorate the memory of Indian revolutionary martyrs Bhagat
    Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru.

Obituaries
               
Veteran Indian Journalist
Ramashish Dies in Nepal
  • Veteran Indian journalist Ramashish today died of cardiac
    arrest in Kathmanmdu.
  • The 78-year-old Ramashish was admitted to a hospital here
    few days ago after he was hit by a bicycle near his house at Sitamarhi, Bihar
    and suffered injury on his back.
  • He died of cardiac arrest in Himal Hospital here in the
    Nepal’s capital. He was also a heart patient, hospital sources said.
  • Ramashish has been serving in the field of media in Nepal
    for more than four decades and had been representing various Indian news
    organisations including the Hindustan Samachar and The Organiser.
  • He was also actively covering various democratic movements
    of Nepal from time to time.

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