Current Affairs Updates - 8th June 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 8th June 2018

In our the present Current Affairs Updates for 8th June 2018, we have conveyed to you a portion of the Latest News Headlines, for example, Madhya Pradesh government has announced an outstanding power bill waiver scheme for labourers and poor families, Madhya Pradesh government has announced an outstanding power bill waiver scheme for labourers and poor families, IIT-Bombay displaces IIT-Delhi as India’s top ranked institution and others .Each of the news have been set under the most applicable class so it turns out to be anything but difficult to experience them subject shrewd. In view of these we will bring One Liner Static GK and Daily Current Affairs Quiz soon. Hopefuls ought to experience these in points of interest as they are imperative for the forthcoming government examinations like IBPS PO, IBPS CLERK, SSC CGL and SSC CHSL. 

RBI in News

In a bid to check loan defaults, RBI said that a Public Credit Registry (PCR) will be set up containing information on all borrowers to ensure financial stability.

• Following a report by Yeshwant M Deosthalee headed High Level Task Force, RBI said it has considered the recommendations and decided to set up a PCR in a modular and phased manner.

RBI allows banks to spread MTM losses for June quarter

• The central bank had also asked banks to build an Investment Fluctuation Reserve (IFR) of 2 per cent of their holdings in the Available for sale (AFS) and Held for Trading (HFT) categories to build up adequate reserves to protect against increase in yields in future

RBI Hikes Repo Or Key Lending Rate To 6.25%, Home Loan EMIs Likely To Rise

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday hiked the key lending or repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent as it announced its second bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2018-19. 

Committees in News

Centre constitutes group to suggest changes in SEZ policy

• The Centre has constituted a group of eminent persons headed by Bharat Forge’s Baba Kalyani to study the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) policy of the country and suggest measures to make it more relevant for exporters and compatible with World Trade Organisation (WTO) norms.

Banking, Economic & Financial Affairs

The Reserve Bank of India has decided to allow urban co-operative banks (UCB) to convert into small finance banks (SFB), a move aimed at bringing these entities into mainstream banking.

• UCBs had been facing financial trouble till a few years ago, prompting the RBI to stop issuing fresh licences. But their performance has improved recently while their numbers have come down due to mergers and closures. 

Rankings & Indexes

QS World University Rankings: IIT-Bombay displaces IIT-Delhi as India’s top ranked institution

• IIT-Bombay moved up 17 places (162 rank) this year to displace IIT-Delhi as India’s top ranked institution. The latter has also been overtaken by IISc-Bangalore, which gained 20 positions to 170 rank. 

Australian think tank reveals India has moved up four places from 141st to the 137th rank among 163 countries on the 2018 Global Peace Index. 

• According to the reports published by the Sydney-based Institute of Economics and Peace, “India moved four places largely due to a reduction in level of violent crime, driven by increased law enforcement. 

National Affairs

President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to promulgate the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018. 

• The Ordinance provides significant relief to homebuyers by recognising their status as financial creditors. 

India Records 22% Drop in Maternal Mortality Rate

• UP registers 30% decline in MMR, while three states – Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu – have already met the Sustainable Development Goal target of 70 deaths per 1,00,000 live births.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the Rs. 10,000 crore fund of funds created by the government will ensure funding to the tune of Rs. 1 lakh crore for startups, which are now mushrooming in smaller towns and also in unconventional segments like agriculture and social sectors.

• He said the Rs. 10,000 crore fund has helped venture capital funds provide assistance of Rs. 7,000 crore to startups. This fund, he said, in the long run will ensure funding of Rs. 1 lakh crore to startups in the country.

International Affairs

World first EPR nuclear reactor begins work in China

• A third generation EPR reactor in China carried out its first nuclear chain reaction, an initial start up which is a world first for the much-delayed European technology.

Application / Portal 

The Election Commission of India launched an online RTI portal to help applicants seeking information under the Right To Information Act. 

• The portal can be accessed on the home page of the commission's website 'eci.nic.in', an official statement said.

Schemes / Programme

The Madhya Pradesh government has announced an outstanding power bill waiver scheme for labourers 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.

The World Bank has approved Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY), a Rs.6000 crore Central Sector Scheme to address the criticality of ground water resources.

• The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation scheme is to be implemented over a period of five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23, with World Bank assistance.

Smriti Irani launches GIAN to boost higher education with international collaboration

• To boost the quality of higher education in India, government has launched Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) on November 30. The initiative is to improve the quality of higher education through international collaboration.  

Agreements/ MoUs Signed

The Union Cabinet apprised the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Denmark on technical cooperation in the field of sustainable and smart urban development 

• The objective of this MoU is to promote bilateral cooperation in the field of sustainable and smart urban development on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit through an exchange of knowledge, institutional cooperation, research and commercial relations on related issues.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was apprised of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India represented by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Oman represented by the Ministry of Transport and Communications on Cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, in February, 2018 at Muscat.

• This MoU shall enable the following areas of cooperation such as, space science, technology and applications including remote sensing of the earth; satellite based navigation.

The Cabinet approved release of joint stamps between Department of Posts and Russia Post to establish cooperation in this field.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was apprised of the agreement signed in connection with release of Joint Stamps between Department of Posts, India and Russia Post (Joint-Stock Company "MARKA" of Russian Federation) to establish postal cooperation and strive towards mutually beneficial operational excellence in the field of issuance of stamps.

Myanmar and U.N. agencies signed an agreement that might eventually lead to the return of some of the 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled brutal persecution by the country’s security forces and are now crowded into makeshift camps in Bangladesh.

• The memorandum of understanding signed on Wednesday promises to establish a “framework of cooperation” that aims to create the conditions for “voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable” repatriation of Rohingya refugees.