Important Current Affairs 28th June 2016

Sujoy Bose Appointed CEO of NIIF

1. The govt has appointed Sujoy Bose as chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Investment &Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).
2. He was selected by a selection committee constituted under department of economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das.
3. NIIF is a quasi sovereign wealth fund with a corpus of around Rs.40,000 crore to finance the requirements of India’s infrastructure sector.

Centre Notifies Amended RBI Act

1. The govt has provided a statutory backing to the monetary policy committee (MPC) by notifying amendments to the RBI Act,1934.
2. This amendments shifts the responsibility of maintaining inflation targets & setting of policy rates to a six-member MPC.
3. A committee-based approach to rate setting compared to the existing practice of the RBI Governor having a final say on policy rates.

4 Shortlisted to Succeed Rajan

1. The government has narrowed down its list of candidates to become the next governor of the Reserve Bank of India to four.
2. The four were:RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel, former deputy governors Rakesh Mohan & Subir Gokarn & SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya.
3. Rajan had announced that he will return to academia when his term at the RBI ends on September 4.

British Pound Falls to 30-yr Low

1. The pound tumbled to the lowest level in almost 31 years on economic & political uncertainty after Britain voted to leave the European Union,
2. The pound dropped almost four percent to $1.3160 against the US dollar, the lowest level since September 1985.
3. Banking, airline & property shares were worst hit .
4. Britain’s June 23 vote to abandon the EU wiped $2.1 trillion off international equity values.

Banks Deposits Double During 2010-2015

1. Deposits with commercial banks almost doubled during 2010-2015 to Rs 89.22 lakh cr
2. Their credit rose twofold to Rs 68.78 lakh cr during the same period.
3. The western region witnessed the highest deposit at Rs 26.85 lakh cr witnessed in 2015 as against Rs 14.49 lakh cr in 2010.
4. Deposits by the banks in north east were the lowest
5. The data was based on RBI first edition of statistical publication.

Sachin Lone Indian in Brendon’s Team

1. The Sachin Tendulkar is the lone Indian to be selected in Brendon McCullum’s list of all-time cricketing XI .
2. McCullum’s team comprises 4 Australians in Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne & Mitchell Johnson,
3. It have 3 West Indians in Vivian Richards, Lara &Chris Gayle, two Kiwis in Tim Southee &Trent Boult, Tendulkar & Jacques Kallis.
4. McCullum retired from all forms of cricket last Feb.

Wimbledon 2016 Begins

1. Wimbledon begins at the All England Club,London.
2. It has been held at the All England Club since 1877 & is the oldest of all the majors & is the only one to still play on grass.
3. The tournament lasts for two weeks &welcomes the best tennis players in the world.
4. Novak Djokovic looks to defend his title as the men’s singles  champion.
5. Serena looks to defend her women’s singles title.

India Maintain No.3 in ICC ODI Rankings

1. India maintained its No.3 position in the recently released ICC ODI Team Rankings which is being headed by Australia.
2. With 110 rating points India is placed below Australia (123) & second-placed New Zealand (113).
3. South Africa has dropped behind India in fourth place.
4. In the ODI all-rounders rankings the list is headed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan.

Jitu Rai Wins Silver in ISSF World Cup

1. Jitu Rai won a silver medal in the 10-metre Air Pistol after edging past Jongoh Jin of Korea at the ISSF shooting World Cup in Baku.
2. Rai shot 199.5 in the finals to bag the silver while Brazilian Felipe Almeida Wu won the gold medal with a total of 200.
3. Jongoh could only manage 178.8 to settle for the bronze.
4. In the women’s 25m pistol, India star shooter Heena Sidhu finish fifth.

Maria Sharapova Enrolls at Harvard

1. The five-time Grand Slam champion & former No.1 player Maria Sharapova has enrolled at the Harvard Business School while she fights her 2 year doping ban.
2. She was tested positive for meldonium at the Australian open in Jan.
3. She is banned from competing until Jan 25, 2018 by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
4. She is trying to overturn or reduce the suspension which was imposed by the ITF.

Expanded Panama Canal Reopens

1. Newly renovated and expanded Panama Canal reopened for bigger business.
2. With the expansion, larger ships are able to traverse the canal.
3. A Chinese ship carrying more than 9,000 containers cross the canal using the third set of locks.
4. The expansion project started in 2007 & cost more than $5 billion.
5. The Panama Canal is a key lane for sea transportation that connects the Atlantic & Pacific oceans.

UP Declare Calamities as State Disaster

1. Uttar Pradesh has declared that all natural calamities including lightning,Loo &storm etc will be treated as state disaster.
2. Victims of these disasters will be given relief as per provisions made under State Disaster Relief Fund.
3. Earlier the victims were given very little compensation by local administration
4. Now coming under the state disaster fund,the victims will get ample financial support.

CSIR Launches Anti-Diabetic Ayud Drug

1. Council for Scientific &Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched BGR-34, an anti-diabetic ayurvedic drug designed for type 2 Diabetes mellitus.
2. BGR-34 is developed jointly by National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI)& Central Institute for Medicinal &Aromatic Plants (CIMAP).
3. BGR-34 works by controlling blood sugar & limiting the harmful effects of other drugs.

HM Chairs 22nd Meeting of EZC

1. Union home minister Rajnath Singh chaired 22nd meeting of eastern zonal council (EZC) in Ranchi.
2. The council consists of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha & West Bengal.
3. The issues of sharing of water of major rivers, development of railways & construction of dedicated freight corridor (DFC) were discussed.
4. During the meeting there was also detailed discussion on the Left Wing Extremism activities.

Hamid Ansari Releases the Book Half-Lion

1. The Vice President Hamid Ansari has released a book Half Lion – How P V Narasimha Rao Transformed India.
2. The book was authored by Vinay Sitapati,
3. Ansari hailed Rao role as the initiator for change in basic economic policies.
4. The book defends Rao’s role at the time of Babri mosque demolition & seeks to debunk theories that the former Prime Minister deliberately did not act to stop the demolition.

MNRE Set Target of Setting Biogas Plants

1. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has allocated to the States an annual target of setting up one lakh family size biogas plants for the current year 2016-17.
2. The MNRE is implementing a National Biogas &Manure Management Progamme (NBMMP) for setting up family type biogas plants.
3. The objective of the scheme is to provide clean gaseous fuel for cooking & bio-manure as a by-product.

Orissa Govt Launches KSS Yojana

1. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has launched a new scheme Kalinga Sikshya Sathi Yojana (KSSY) for students pursuing higher studies.
2. Under the provisions of the scheme, the state govt would provide education loans at 1 % interest per annum to students undergoing higher education.
3. The state govt has earmarked 500 crore for this purpose.
4. The max loan amount under this scheme will be 10 lakh.

UK Loses its Top AAA Credit Rating

1. The UK has lost its top AAA credit rating from ratings agency S&P following the country’s Brexit vote last week.
2. S&P downgraded the nation by two notches, from “AAA” to “AA.
3. S&P said the referendum result to leave the EU could lead to a deterioration of the UK’s economic performance.
4. A rating downgrade can affect how much it costs govts to borrow money in the international financial markets.

VW Reaches $14.7 B Emissions Settlement

1. Volkswagen will settle its emissions scandal case for $14.7 billion, the largest payout by an automaker to consumers in U.S. history.
2. Volkswagen would repair or buy back polluting vehicles & pay each owner as much as USD 10,000 under a USD 14.7 billion deal.
3. The scandal erupted in Sept when it was learned that the German automaker had fitted many of its cars with software to fool emissions tests.

Jan Dhan Deposits up 118 per cent

1. The average deposit per account under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) increased 118% from Rs 795 in Sept 2014 to Rs 1,735 in May 2016.
2. PMJDY accounts increased from 53 million in Sept 2014 to 219 million in May 2016
3. The proportion of accounts with no money declined from 76% in 2014 to 25.7 % in 2016.
4. PMJDY deposits increased from Rs 4,273 cr in Sept 2014 to Rs 38,048 cr in May 2016.