Current Affairs notes on 06/06/2018

1.Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Reserve Bank of India has increased the policy Repo Rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent in the Second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement (2018-19). Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.0 percent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.50 percent.

2.Ecuadorean foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa has been elected President of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), The previous women leaders of the Assembly were India’s Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit in 1953; Liberia’s Angie Elisabeth Brooks in 1969 and Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain in 2006.

3.Tamil Nadu government announced a ban on manufacture, sales, storage and usage of disposable plastic across State with effective from January 1, 2019. However, the ban excludes using disposable plastic for packaging milk, curd, oil and medical utilities. The ban was primarily on plastic carry bags, plastic plates, plastic cups, plastic flags, small plastic sachets used in packaging water.

4.On June 6, the screening of the biopic ‘Making of the Mahatma’ in Pietermaritzburg marked the opening of a three-day series of events to commemorate the historic incident 125 years ago when Mahatma Gandhi was evicted from a train because the compartment he was in was reserved for whites only. The film was directed by Shyam Benegal based on the book ‘Apprenticeship of a Mahatma’ by late freedom activist Prof Fatima Meer.

5.The Madhya Pradesh government has announced an outstanding power bill waiver scheme for laborers and poor families. The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan approved the Bijli Bill Mafi Yojana 2018 (Power Bill Waiver Scheme) which is expected to benefit about 77 lakh people of the state.

6.The Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Third Asia- Pacific Regional Policy Forum on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) have started in Kathmandu, Nepal on June 5, 2018. 40 countries including India are participating in the conference.

7.India cricket captain Virat Kohli is among the world's highest-paid athletes, according to a Forbes compilation topped by American boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. Kohli, the only sportsperson from India to be featured in the list, is ranked 83rd with earnings of USD 24 million. The 'World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2018' list is topped by 41-year-old Mayweather, with USD 285 million earnings.

8.Omar Razzaz, a Harvard-educated former senior World Bank official, has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Jordan by King Abdullah II.

9.The two-day 49th Conference of Governors concluded in New Delhi. The President exhorted Governors to take the lead in adopting modern technology and methods. The Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Minister for Home Affairs also addressed the concluding session of the Conference.

10.A. Dhiraj Ram Krishna, a young engineer from Coimbatore, has won the 'National Gopal Ratna' award from the Central Government on June 2 for cattle rearing and dairying. He received the award from the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Radha Mohan Singh in New Delhi for 'upkeep of the best dairy animals of indigenous breeds'.

11.The Centre has decided not to file any “counter-affidavit” on Article 35A, which has been challenged in the Supreme Court through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition. The Supreme Court has scheduled further hearing for August 6.

 Article 35A is a provision in the Constitution that empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define permanent residents of the state. It was added through the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954, issued under Article 370.

Article 35A empowers Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define “permanent residents” of the state along with their special rights and privileges. This Article has an intricate relationship with Article 370.(useful for CS mains)

12.The Eleventh edition of GeoIntelligence Asia 2018 is being held in New Delhi. It is organised by GeoSpatial Media and Communication with Directorate General of Information System as Knowledge Partners and Military Survey as Co-organisers. The seminar brings together the military, security officials including BSF and Police Forces, Government and industry together to examine the latest technology solutions and on the critical role of geospatial technology in military and security applications.

13.2018 IBSA Ministerial meet was recently held in Pretoria, South Africa. The outcome of this meeting was a document titled IBSA Declaration on South-South Cooperation.

14.The government is planning to provide fortified rice (enriched with essential vitamins and minerals) to all the poor under National Food Security Act (NFSA) across the country, which would cost about Rs 12,000 to Rs 14,000 crore annually. To begin with the scheme is likely to cover the 115 ‘aspirational’ districts across the country. The proposal is being prepared with the support of Niti Aayog under the National Nutrition Mission.

15.The NITI Aayog is working on a roadmap for full-scale implementation of methanol economy in the country in near future, which would not only curb pollution, but reduce India’s dependence on oil imports as well.Methanol is a promising fuel as it is clean, cheaper than fossil fuels and a good substitute for heavy fuels. India imports methanol from Saudi Arabia and Iran at present. Across the world, methanol is emerging as a clean, sustainable transportation fuel of the future.

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