Important Current Affairs 16th June 2016

India Is Polio Free, Says Govt.

1. India continues to be polio free, the government said in a statement released.
2. Recently, a strain of the virus was found in samples of sewage water in Hyderabad.
3. The statement further said that vaccine derived polioviruses are a rare strain that are genetically mutated from the strain contained in the Oral Polio Vaccine and its transmission is unlikely.

SpaceX fails to land Falcon 9 rocket

1. SpaceX successfully launched two satellites into orbit on Wednesday, but failed in an attempt to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket undamaged on a barge in the Atlantic.
2. It was SpaceX’s sixth launch of the year.
3. SpaceX is next set to launch a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA next month.

Government to Rein In Prices of Pulses

1. The government today decided to boost supply through its newly-created buffer stock and imports.
2. It was decided that the procurement of pulses from local producers (farmers) will continue to ensure a healthy buffer stock.
3. India consumes 22 million tonnes of pulses each year while the production is around 17 million tonnes.

SBI & its associates to merge: Cabinet

1. The Union Cabinet today gave an in-principle approval to a proposal for the merger of five associate banks with State Bank of India (SBI).
2. SBI has five associate banks – State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad
3. SBI had first merged State Bank of Saurashtra in 2008 and State Bank of Indore in 2010.

India Closer To NSG Membership: China

1. Chinese media noted the recent development on India’s NSG membership saying that India, Pak nuke balance will be broken if NSG admits India.
2. The media also stated that India’s admission will shake strategic balance in South Asia & even cast a cloud over peace & stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region.
3. China could support India’s inclusion in the 48 member nuclear club if it “played by rules”.

Obama, Dalai Lama meet at White House

1. President Barack Obama met at the White House Wednesday with the Dalai Lama in a get-together.
2. China has expressed its opposition to any such meeting.
3. Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhists’ spiritual leader, of campaigning to split Tibet from the rest of China, but he says he simply wants a higher degree of autonomy under Chinese rule.

Kamal Nath quits as Punjab in-charge

1. Facing fire over his alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Congress general secretary Kamal Nath on Wednesday quit as the party’s Punjab affairs in-charge
2. Several state Congress leaders had claimed that he had been absolved by the Nanavati Commission that probed the killings during the riots.
3. It is learnt that his replacement is likely to be announced within this week.

Cabinet clears civil aviation policy

1. Cabinet gave its approval for partial abolition of the 5/20 rule, which will enable new carriers Vistara & Air Asia to start international operations.
2. Earlier, airlines had to have 5 years of domestic operations to be eligible to fly overseas.
3. Now, an airline will have to allocate 20 aircraft or 20% of their total fleet, whichever is higher, to the domestic sector if they wish to fly overseas.

Sunil Bharti elected as ICC Chairman

1. International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has elected chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Sunil Bharti Mittal, as its chairman.
2. Sunil takes over from Terry McGraw, Chairman Emeritus of S&P Global, who will subsequently become ICC’s Honorary Chairman.
3. Founded in 1919, ICC is the world’s largest business organisation, & represents the private-sector’s views to national govts. & intergovernmental bodies.

Modi to inaugurate ‘Rajasva Gyan Sangam’

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the two-day ‘Rajasva Gyan Sangam’, an annual conference CBDT and CBEC on Thursday.
2. It is for the first time that two Revenue Boards are holding the conference simultaneously.
3. The conference provides a platform to assess the performance of the year gone by and to deliberate on emerging issues without any hierarchical barriers.