Current Affairs Updates - 6th April 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 6th April 2018

In our today's Current Affairs Updates - 6th April 2018 we have picked up some latest news like MOUs and Conferences along with the detailed First Bi-Monthly Policy, and Rankings according to Crude Steel and programs. These are important for the upcoming examinations of IBPS PO, IBPS CLERK, SSC CGL, SSC CHSL and Rail. Each of the news have been mentioned under the most relevant section which will make it easier to remember and study. We also provide Static GK and Note Down Points on a regular basis. One should also practice the Daily Current Affairs Quiz on a regular basis for better performance in the examination and also to boost one's knowledge.

Important Days

April 5 is celebrated as the National Maritime Day in India every year.

• It was on this day 99 years ago in 1919 when the country's navigation history set sail with SS Loyalty, the first ship of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd started for the United Kingdom from Mumbai (then British Bombay). 

New Appointments: National

SBI Life Insurance appoints Sanjeev Nautiyal as new MD & CEO

• Nautiyal replaces Arijit Basu, who takes over a key role in the State Bank of India Group.

Assam Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was unanimously elected the Badminton Association of India (BAI) President during its annual general body meeting in Goa

• Ajay Kumar Singhania was elected the Secretary General while former Tamil Nadu Badminton Association president and former Union minister Anbumani Ramadoss was elected treasurer. Both were elected unanimously.

New Appointments: International

Subrata Bhattacharjee appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Serbia

• Shri Subrata Bhattacharjee (IFS: 1989), currently Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Serbia.

Banking, Economic & Financial Affairs

According to First Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement released by RBI, liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.0%, Reverse Repo Rate (RRR) at 5.75%, Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.25%.

• India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth marginally upward to 6.6% from 6.5% in the first advance estimates. GDP growth in 2017-18 at 6.6 percent was lower than 7.1% in 2016-17.

Sebi eases algo trade rules in commodity exchanges

• In a bid to relax algorithm trading norms at commodity derivatives exchanges, markets regulator Sebi today raised the limit to process up to 100 orders per second by a user for such trade from the existing limit of 20 orders per second. 

Leading private lender ICICI Bank announced the launch of a service that enables Non Resident Indians (NRIs) to send money to a beneficiary in India using social media platforms like WhatsApp and e-mail.

• Christened 'Social Pay', this first-of-its-kind service is available on Money2India (M2I), the bank's app for remittances. This new facility will enable NRIs to send money conveniently to their friends and family.

Rankings & Indexes

India ranked third in the list of countries where the highest number of cyber threats were detected, and second in terms of targeted attacks in 2017, according to security software firm Symantec. 

• The United States led the pack, followed by China at the second spot, according to the company's Internet security threat report (ISTR). 

India has overtaken Japan to become the world's second largest producer of crude steel in February, according to the Steel Users Federation of India (Sufi).

• At present, China is the largest producer of crude steel in the world, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the production.

National Affairs

Union Cabinet approves amendments to Protection of Human Rights Bill

• It also aims at to incorporate a mechanism to look after the cases of human rights violation in the union territories

The Election Commission (EC) has said it will set up sakhi/pink bolling booths for the first time in Karnataka.

• The booths will have women-only staff. Karnataka will have about 450 pink polling booths this upcoming election.

The Cabinet tapproved rightsizing of antitrust watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) by halving the number of its members to three.

• CCI currently has one chairperson and six members. It will now have one chairperson and three members.

The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) will establish a technology data bank for ASEAN (Association of Southeastern Asian Nations) region as part of ASEAN-India Innovation Platform.

• The corporation has been entrusted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to manage the platform for a period of four years.

International Affairs

Russia starts building Turkey's first nuclear power plant

• The Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) awarded a construction licence for Akkuyu NPP, Turkey's first nuclear power plant, which is being built in Mersin province, in southern Turkey.

Agreements/ MoUs Signed

Ecommerce market leader Flipkart has entered into a partnership with online travel and ticketing platform MakeMyTrip to launch its entry into the online travel sector.

• Online ticket booking services offered by Goibibo and Redbus, other travel platforms owned by MakeMyTrip, will also be available on Flipkart.

Govt clears India-Iran MoU for expert group on trade remedy measures

• The decision to grant ex post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

Summit /Conference / Events

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday embarked a three-day official visit to Azerbaijan's capital city Baku to participate in Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Conference.

• The NAM Mid-Term Ministerial Conference will be held in Baku on 5-6 April under the theme of "Promoting international peace and security for sustainable development".

India to host 3rd Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank  in Mumbai.Theme: “Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration”.

• The Government of India and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Secretariat today signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to delineate the duties and responsibilities of major stakeholders who would be involved in organizing the aforesaid Annual Meeting. 

Awards & Honours: Sports

Weightlifter Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu has delivered India its second gold medal of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast City, Australia by dominating the women’s 53kg event at the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre

• Back at the venue where last year she won gold in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships, the 24-year-old from Manipur broke the existing CWG record with a lift of 84kg in the snatch category and then lifted 108 in the clean & jerk to finish with a combined effort of 192kg.

Weightlifter P Gururaja opened India's medal account on the first competition day of the 21st Commonwealth Games, winning a silver in the men's 56kg category

• The 25-year-old Gururaja equalled his personal best of 249kg (111+138) to finish second in a field where Malaysia's three-time Commonwealth Championships medallist Muhammad Izhar Ahmed (117+144) broke the Games record for snatch and overall lift.

Australian boxer Taylah Robertson has become the first medallist of the 21st Commonwealth Games without even stepping into the ring after she got a bye straight into the 51kg category women's semi-finals.

• The 19-year-old has got what is called the lucky medal due to the small size of her draw, luck that eluded Indians, including the celebrated M C Mary Kom (48kg), who will fight her quarter-final contest on April 8.