Important Current Affairs 2nd June 2016

Govt Approves India Post’s Payments Bank

1. Cabinet has approved setting up of India Post Payments Bank as Public Limited Company under Department of Posts.
2. Total architecture of postal payments bank is of Rs 800 crore which will have Rs 400 crore equity and Rs 400 crore grant.
3. All 650 branches of postal payment banks will become operational by Sept, 2017.
4. 5000 ATMs will be started for mobile & internet banking.

Airtel Payments Bank Names New CEO

1. Airtel Payments Bank has announced the appointment of Shashi Arora as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Managing Director (MD).
2. He will replace Manish Khera.
3. Arora joined Bharti Airtel in February 2006 & was appointed CEO of Bharti Telemedia Ltd.
4. Earlier, he was Group Marketing Head of Kotak Mahindra Bank.
5. Arora is a Gold Medalist from the Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences, Bhiwani.

Govt Achieves 3.9% Fiscal Deficit Target

1. Government has said that it has achieved the fiscal deficit target of 3.9 percent of GDP in 2015-16.
2. Fiscal deficit is 3.9 per cent of GDP or Rs 5.32 lakh crore in 2015-16.
3. For 2016-17, the government aims to further bring down the fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent.
4. Fiscal deficit is the gap between expenditure & revenue.

Cabinet Hikes Paddy MSP by Rs 60

• The govt has hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy by Rs 60 to Rs 1,470 per quintal for the 2016-17 Kharif season.
• A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs .
• Sowing of Kharif crops will shortly begin & Paddy is the main crop grown in the season.
• MSP is the rate at which the government buys the grain from farmers.

PM Releases Disaster Management Plan

1. PM Modi has released the country’s first-ever National Disaster Management Plan.
2. It will focus on making India disaster resilient and significantly reduce the loss of lives and assets.
3. The plan is based on the four priority themes of the Sendai Framework.
4. These include understanding disaster risk, improving the risk governance, investing in disaster risk reduction & disaster preparedness.

World’s longest Rail Tunnel Opens

1. The world’s longest & deepest rail tunnel has officially opened in Switzerland.
2. The 57km Gotthard base tunnel will provide a high-speed rail link under the Swiss Alps between northern & southern Europe.
3. The tunnel was built in 17 years by 2,400 workers, at a cost of over 12 billion dollars.
4. The tunnel has overtaken Japan’s 53.9km Seikan rail tunnel as the longest in the world.

India,Morocco Launch Chamber of Commerce

1. India & Morocco has launched the India-Morocco Chamber of Commerce & Industry to accelerate the pace of economic development between the two countries.
2. The chamber was jointly launched by visiting Vice President Hamid Ansari & Moroccan PM  Abdelilah Benkirane.
3. The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $1.26 billion in 2015 with Indian exports forming roughly 25% of the trade volume.

Noted Kannada Writer Dejagow Dies

1. Noted Kannada writer D. Javare Gowda, popularly known as De. Ja. Gow has passed away.
2. Gowda had played a vital role in getting the classical language status for Kannada.
3. His works include Lakshmishana Jaimini Bharata ,Kanakadasara Nalacharitre & Chikkupadyayana Rukmangada Charitre etc.
4. He was also the recipient of Pampa Prashasti,Gorur Award,Karnataka Ratna & Nadoja title.

Comic Actor Razak Khan Passes Away

1. Veteran comic actor Razak Khan has passed away.
2. He made his debut in Bollywood with Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja in1993
3. He was popularly known for acting in films like Hello Brother, Hungama & Hera Pheri.
4. In a career spanning two-and-half decades, Khan acted in over 150 films.
5. He gained fame playing the role of Manikchand in the movie Baadshah

India, France Ink MoU for Tech Support

1. The Union Cabinet has approved a MoU between,the India Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) & the French civil aviation authority, to help DGCA officials enhance their technical expertise.
2. The MoU will promote & implement standards & recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
3. The pact would also help in imparting training of engineers,technicians among others.