Current Affairs Today June 22 2018

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 INDIAN AFFAIRS

PM Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone of Vanijya Bhawan at Delhi’s Akbar road
On June 22, 2018, Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Vanijya Bhawan, a new office complex for the Commerce Department of the Government of India, in  New Delhi.
i. The Department of Commerce is currently housed in Udyog Bhawan.
About the Infrastructure of the new building :
i. It is being built on a plot of 4.33 acres, belonging to Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D), at the junction of Akbar and Man Singh Roads.
ii. It has an area of 19233.745 sq. meters.  It will accommodate about 1000 officers and staff.
iii. It will be a completely paperless office with state of the art facilities such as smart access control, central air-conditioning, video conferencing, and completely networked systems.
iv. More than 56% of the 214 trees on the plot are either being left untouched or are being replanted .About 70% of the big trees have been saved. 230 new trees are also being planted on the same plot.
Objectives of the new building :
i. New responsibilities like Integrated Logistics Sector Development to its already wide portfolio including the formulation, implementation, monitoring and review of the country’s foreign trade policy.
ii. Work relating to multilateral and bilateral commercial relations, Special Economic Zones, state trading and export promotion and trade facilitation.
About Commerce Ministry :
♦ It administers Department of Commerce and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
♦ Minister and MOS (Independent Charge): Mr. Suresh Prabhu.

Modi inaugurates nature center in New York
On June 22, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a nature center on the 4th International Day of Yoga at New York City.
About the Centre:
i. The centre is called  ‘YO1 Nature Cure Center’.
ii. YO1, which means youthful in Sanskrit, is the first of its kind nature cure center in America.
iii. It is situated in Catskills area of New York.
iv. A state-of-art facility and will be a wellness destination that will offer therapies based on ancient Indian Yoga and Pranayam.
v. It has been founded by The centre, founded by Rajya Sabha MP and Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra.
vi. It will provide employment to at least 500 people and indirect employment to more than 1,500 people.
About International Day of Yoga:
♦ The United Nations General Assembly in December 2014 had declared that June 21 would be observed as International Day of Yoga every year.

HRD nod to inter-university yoga centre in S-VYASA varsity
On June 22, 2018, The Ministry of Human Resource Development approved setting up an inter-university yoga centre at Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana in Bengaluru.
i. The announcement was made by Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on the fourth International Yoga Day.
About International Day of Yoga:
International Day of Yoga, or commonly and unofficially referred to as Yoga Day, is celebrated annually on 21 June since its inception in 2015. An international day for yoga was declared unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding (CEMS) Sets Up Labs in Mumbai and Vizag
On June 22, 2018, The Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding (CEMS), in a seminar named Competencies, Employability, Methodology and Skills organized by CEMS in Mumbai has announced setting up of 24 labs -6 in Mumbai and 18 in Vizag campus.
Objective:
To build competency in the field of maritime & shipbuilding sector through skill development.
Key points:
i. This is Promoted by Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) in partnership with Siemens and support from Sagarmala, Ministry of Shipping.
ii. The labs are being set up for Product Design & Validation, Advance Manufacturing, Hull Design, Automation, Welding Technology, Robotics, Virtual Reality, Advance Machine & Robotics, Electrical and others.
iii. This will deploy skill development through engineering and technical skills in the areas of Ship Hull Design, Ship Detailed Design, Shipbuilding &Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), and advanced digital manufacturing-factory concepts.
About Sagarmala Project:
♦ The Sagarmala Programme  the flagship programme of the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India .
♦ Objective: to promote port-led development of India’s 7,500 km long coastline, 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways and strategic location on key international maritime trade routes.
♦ Launched in  2015.
♦ Investment: Rs.8 trillion (US$120 billion or €100 billion).

Haryana Finance Dept issues notification revising allowances in various categories
On June 22, 2018, Haryana Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu revised allowances in various categories on the basis of recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission, effective from May 1, 2018.
i. Revision of the existing rate of Children Education Allowance to Rs 1,125 from 750 per month per eligible child, limited to first two children.
ii. The state government has introduced Special Allowance for Child Care to differently-abled female government employees (40 per cent disability and above as certified) where it would be of Rs 1,500 per month per child.
iii. Revised the pay structure to the doctors working in the Health Department, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Department and Ayush Department. The sum of the Pay+ NPA would not exceed Rs 2,24,550 per month.
iv. The rates of Hill Compensatory Allowance to the Haryana Government Employees posted in “Morni Hills” have been revised at 2.5 per cent of the pay in pay matrix, subject to minimum Rs 350 and maximum Rs 700 per month.
v. The rates of all Group D employees in the state has also been revised at the rate of Rs 200 per month.
vi. The existing rate of special allowance to all safai karmcharis has been revised at the rate of Rs 625 per month.
vii. Rate of conveyance allowance to blind and orthopaedically differently-abled employees has been revised to minimum Rs 2500 per month and maximum Rs 7200 per month.
Dams in Haryana :
Anangpur Dam, Kaushalya Dam, Palla Barrage, Masani Barrage, Pathrala Barrage, Hathni Kund Barrage, Ottu Barrage, Tajewala Barrage.
National Parks in Haryana:
Sultanpur National Park, Kalesar National Park.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Swaraj, Sitharaman to visit US for 1st 2+2 dialogue
On June 22, 2018, The first India-US ‘2+2 dialogue’ will be held on July 6 and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will lead from the Indian side and US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Secretary of Defence James N Mattis from the US side.
i. This meeting aims to focus on strategic and security ties and exchange views on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
ii. This new dialogue format was agreed upon between the two sides during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington in June 2017.
Unesco Heritage sites in India:
Currently India has 36 sites (6^th most of any country). Some of them are:
Sundarbans, Khajuraho Group of Monuments, Ajanta Caves, Hampi , Ellora Caves, Kaziranga Natioanl Park, Konark, Elephanta Caves, Mamallapuram (TamilNadu), Fatehpur Sikri, Bhimbetka rock Shelters, Manas National Park, Pattadakal, Sanchi, Kailasa Temple, Apatani People (living in Ziro Valley of Arunachal Pradesh).

BANKING & FINANCE

HDFC Bank featured in BrandZ ranking
On June 22, 2018, HDFC Bank, has featured at 60^th rank in the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking.
i. The brand value of HDFC Bank at $20.9 billion, up 22%
ii. Google and Appleretained the number 1 and 2 spots in the rankings, followed by Amazon, which moved into the #3 position ahead of Microsoft.
About other rankings by BrandZ:
i.The report has also ranked India as 2 in the ‘Best Mover Countries’ ranking after UAE. Singapore was 3rd in the list.
ii.According to BrandZ’s “Cars top ten, 2018” , Toyota is ranked 1^st followed by Mercedes-Benz (2) and BMW (3) and Maruti Suzuki made its debut on the top 10 list at number 9.
About BrandZ:
♦ BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking is carried out by WPP’s marketing and brand consultancy Kantar Millward Brown since last 13 years.
♦ This ranking, list the countries, which have potential to add more brands in the ‘Top 100’ in coming years.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Ministry of Women & Child Development receives the ‘Best Performing Social Sector Ministry’ SKOCH Award for its Achievements and Initiatives
 On June 22 2018 Ministry of Women and Child Development had honored by ‘Best Performing Social Sector Ministry’ SKOCH Award due to their efficient initiatives and significant achievements from the last 4 years. Smt.Maneka Sanjay Gandhi has received the award on behalf of the Ministry in an event held in New Delhi.
Highlights of WCD achievements and initiatives:-
i. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, flagship schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao has achieved huge success within a very short period of time.
ii. It includes 6 months maternity leave, Sexual Harassment at Work Place Act, SHe-box, One stop centres, Universal Women help line (181), 33 per cent reservation in police.
iii. Foundation of  Sakhi Suraksha Advanced DNA Forensic Laboratory was laid in Chandigarh and also 5 more advanced forensic labs would come up in Guwahati, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune and Bhopal.
iv. The special forensic kits for rape cases will be provided to all police stations and hospitals.The funds for these kits will be provided from Nirbhaya Fund.

HRD Ministry issues fresh guidelines for Selection of Teachers for National Awards
On June 22, 2018, The Ministry of HRD has issued fresh guidelines for a new initiative of Selection of Teachers for National Awards.
i. Teachers earlier had to send their entries to the State government but now can directly send them for National Awards for Teachers.
Objective:
To celebrate the unique contribution of some of the finest teachers in the country and to honor those teachers.
Key points:
i. Eligible candidates are from :

• Central Govt. Schools i.e. Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs), Jawahar Navodaya     Vidyalayas (JNVs), Central Schools for Tibetans (CTSA), Sainik Schoolsrun by Ministry of Defence (MoD), Schools run by Atomic Energy Education Society (AEES).
• Schools affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
• Schools affiliated to Council for Indian Schools Certificate Examination (CISCE).

ii. Teachers would be marked upon criterias like : initiatives to improve learning outcomes, innovative experiments undertaken, organization of extra and co-curricular activities, use of Teaching Learning Material, social mobility, ensuring experiential learning, unique ways to ensure physical education to students etc. These criteria are given the weightage of 80 out of 100.
iii. For the application a portal would be developed and managed by Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) assisted by CIET, NCERT under the overall supervision of MHRD. MHRD will bear the entire expenditure for development and maintenance of the portal.
iv. First level scrutiny will be done by District Selection Committee (DSC) headed by the District Education Officer.
v. The State Selection Committee (SSC) will be headed by Principal Secretary/ Secretary of State Education Department. They would re-verify of the facts/ information/marks of the nominations received from all the DSCs.
vi. The Organization selection committee that would evaluate all the nominations and prepare shortlist of the best candidates, subject to the maximum number allotted to the Organizations.
vii. Independent Jury at National level headed by retired Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, MHRD would review the list of candidates as forwarded by all the 36 SSCs and 7 OSCs and carry out fresh assessment.
viii. The overall maximum number of nomination allowed across all states/UTs/Organizations is 145.
About Ministry of Human Resources :
♦ HRD Minister: Prakash Javedkar.
♦ 1^st Miniter of Education was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Paul Polman to succeed Sunil Mittal as ICC Chairman
On June 21 2018, Due to the completion of two-year tenure, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, the Sunil Bharti Mittal will quit his International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Chairman post. Mittal was the third business leader from India in the history of ICC to be appointed as the Chairman of ICC.
i. Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever will succeed Sunil Mittal as ICC Chairman.Mittal will assume the role of ICC Honorary Chair from July 1, 2018.
ii. Ajay Banga, President and CEO MasterCard, has been appointed as the next ICC ‘First Vice-Chair’.
About International Chamber of Commerce(ICC):-
♦ The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business
♦ organization in the world. ICC has three main activities: rule setting, dispute resolution, and policy advocacy.
♦ Formation – 1919
♦ Headquarters – Paris, France

Nor Shamsiah appointed new Bank Negara Governor
Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus will be appointed as the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor for a term of five years from July 1, 2018 till June 30, 2023.
i. She will be appointed as the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor for a term of five years from July 1, 2018 till June 30, 2023.
ii. She will replace Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim who resigned on June 15 2018.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Indian scientists discover ‘sub-Saturn’ or ‘super-neptune’ size planet around Sun-like star
On June 22,2018 A team of scientists and engineers of Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad have discovered a sub-Saturn or super-Neptune sized planet around a Sun-like star.
i. The planet discovered by the team led by Prof. Abhijit Chakraborty .The planet will be known as EPIC 211945201b or K2-236b. The mass of the new planet is about 27 Earth mass and its size about of six Earth radii.
ii. By measuring the mass of the planet using the indigenously designed “PRL Advance Radial-velocity Abu-sky Search” (PARAS) spectrograph integrated with 1.2m Telescope at PRL’s Gurushikhar Observatory in Mount Abu, India.
iii. Only 23 such planetary systems are known to this date with masses between 10 and 70 Earth mass and size of 4 to 8 Earth radii with such precise measurement of mass. This discovery is critical for understanding the formation mechanism of super-Neptune or sub-Saturn planets that lie too close to the host star and other planet formations around large stars.

SPORTS

Indian Shuttler Kidambi Srikanth named Sports Illustrated ‘India’s Sportsperson of the Year’
On June 21 2018, Commonwealth Games 2018 gold-medal winning shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, was honored as the Sportsperson of the Year for 2017 by the Sports Illustrated India magazine at the Roseate House, Aerocity in New Delhi. He won four Super series titles Indonesia, Australia, Denmark and France in the year 2017 and finished the season at the No. 2 position in World Rankings.
i. In April 2018, he became the only male Indian badminton player to rise to the No. 1 in badminton rankings.
Other award categories:

England set new ODI world record with incredible 481-6 as Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow score centuries vs Australia
i. On June 21 2018 ,England set a new one-day international world record total of 481/6  and defeat Australia by 242 runs at Trent Bridge. The victory gave the England to hosts 2019 World Cup. England was 3-0 lead in the five-match series
ii. Captain Eoin Morgan became England’s highest ODI runscorer as the hosts set a towering total in the third match of the series.

OBITUARY

Veteran Pak diplomat Jamsheed Marker passes away
On June 21 2018,Veteran Pakistani diplomat and world record-holder Jamsheed Marker,95 passed away in Karachi.
i.He has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records under the title of “World’s longest-serving ambassador.
ii. He served as Pakistan’s top diplomat to the United States and more than a dozen other countries for over three decades.

Koko: Gorilla who mastered sign language dies in California
On June 20 2018, The 46-year-old western lowland gorilla,koko who mastered sign language at the foundation’s preserve in California’s Sana Cruz mountains.
i. Koko was born at the San Francisco Zoo, and Dr. Francine Patterson began teaching the gorilla sign language that became part of a Stanford University project in 1974.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Columnist, Charles Krauthammer Passed Away
On June 21 2018 Charles Krauthammer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and pundit who helped shape and occasionally dissented from the conservative movement as he evolved from “Great Society” Democrat to Iraq War cheerleader to denouncer of Donald Trump. He was being treated for a cancerous tumor in his abdomen.
i. Krauthammer is credited with coining the term “The Reagan Doctrine” for President Reagan’s policy of aiding anti-Communist movements worldwide.
ii. Krauthammer was a former Harvard medical student.He had wrote wide range of subjects in Time magazine, The New Republic and other publications.