Current Affairs Updates - 12th June 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 12th  June 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 12th  June 2018 presently includes all the relevant News Headlines from the Latest Current Affairs which are extremely important for the upcoming government competitive examinations such as Bank, Rail, SSC and other. We hope aspirants would go through these to get a better understanding of the topics in detailed description. One can also try following the Daily Current Affairs Quiz and One Liner and Static GK and Note Down Points on a regular basis.

New Appointments: National

Ex-NIA chief Sharad Kumar appointed vigilance commissioner in CVC

• The 62-year-old Kumar, a 1979-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre, retired in September last year after heading the National Investigation Agency, an anti-terror probe organisation, for over four years.

UPSC member Arvind Saxena has been appointed as the acting chairman of the commission from June 20

• Saxena, a 1978-batch Indian Postal Service officer, will take over the charge from incumbent Vinay Mittal who completes his term at the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on June 19.

Banking, Economic & Financial Affairs

State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest public sector lender, recorded its highest non-performing asset (NPAs) of Rs. 1.1 lakh crore in 2017-18, almost equal to what it had registered in the decade before.

• The gross NPAs of the bank went up from Rs. 1.12 lakh crore in 2016-17 to Rs. 2.23 lakh crore in the last fiscal.

India's retail inflation jumped further in May to a four-month high, primarily driven by a surge in energy prices, according to a Reuters poll of economists, suggesting more policy tightening from the central bank is coming.

• The Reserve Bank of India raised the repo rate for the first time since 2014, by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent, as recent data showed significant increases for both inflation and growth. But the central bank kept its "neutral" policy stance unchanged.

Rankings & Indexes

Indians form 2nd largest group of international students in US

• US consul general in Kolkata, Craig Hall, said that the United States is the top destination for foreign students worldwide and the number of Indian students in the US has more than doubled in the last 10 years.

A national disaster risk index mapping hazards and vulnerabilities across 640 districts puts Maharashtra at the top of the chart followed by West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, while Delhi is most at risk among Union territories (UTs).

• The top three states are followed by Rajasthan, Karnataka, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Bihar while those vulnerable to disasters like cyclones, landslides and earthquakes, like Andhra Pradesh and hill states, are relatively lower in the index.

National Affairs

The first batch of Kailash Manasarovar Yatra-2018 was flagged off by Union minister of state for External Affairs VK Singh, who hoped the pilgrimage passing through difficult terrain of the Himalayas concludes smoothly.

• The first batch comprising 60 pilgrims will reach Kailash Manasarovar via Lipulekh. There are two routes for Yatra-through Lipulekh pass(Uttarakhand) and through Natu La pass(Sikkim).

India Meteorological Department (IMD) will use flash flood guidance system for the first time in the country to forecast floods. 

• IMD Director General KJ Ramesh said the national weather agency is preparing to launch this service from the next month. He said, different kinds of soil from various parts of the country have been studied to find out how absorbent each variety was.

India is considering bringing together a group of 8-10 member countries of the WTO to prepare an agenda for creation of a conducive atmosphere in Geneva to ensure smooth functioning of the global trade body

• It would be an informal group within the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which may also include nations like Brazil, China, South Africa, China, Indonesia and Columbia. 

India will soon have its first national police museum as the central government has decided to establish the unique facility in Lutyens' Delhi.

• The museum is expected to be inaugurated on October 21 (Police Commemoration Day) at the hands of either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Defence & Railway News

The Ministry of Railways on Monday launched two mobile applications 'Rail MADAD' and 'Menu on Rails' to ease the travelling experience.

• These  were launched by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State (MoS) Manoj Sinha during a press conference organised to highlight the achievements of the Ministry in the last four years.

The Northern Railways will now monitor cleanliness of its trains using WhatsApp groups

• Every department, be it pantry, bed rolls etc., will have separate WhatsApp groups, in which status report of cleanliness will be uploaded on a daily basis.

India is instituting a series of bilateral and multilateral naval exercises with Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries as part of the increasing military-to-military cooperation.

• The Navies of India and Indonesia will hold their first bilateral exercise in the Java Sea. 

Summit /Conference / Events

• The 44th G7 summit was held on June 8–9, 2018, in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada.
• This was the sixth time since 1981 that Canada has hosted the meetings.

Mauritius to host global Hindi meet

• The upcoming 11th World Hindi Conference in Mauritius is likely to produce directives to increase the popularity of Hindi globally, a source familiar with the preparation for the event says. 

Awards & Honours: Sports

India won the title of Intercontinental Cup Football Tournament after 2-0 victory in the final against Kenya at the Mumbai Football Arena.

1. Inspirational Indian captain Sunil Chhetri gave India an edge in the eighth minute and then equalized Messi by scoring another goal in the 29th minute.

French Open 2018: Rafael Nadal beats Dominic Thiem to win 11th title

• World number one Rafael Nadal won an 11th French Open title by beating Austrian Dominic Thiem in straight sets.

Young Indian women's doubles pair of Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker clinched their second international title by beating Aminath Nabeeha Abdul Razzaq and Fathimath Nabeeha Abdul Razzaq of Maldives in the Mauritius Senior International badminton tournament in Mauritius 

• The India pair was seeded second in the tournament and were at their dominating best as they brushed aside the number one seeds 21-17 21-12 with consummate ease.

Sebastian Vettel claimed the 50th win of his career and reclaimed the lead of this year's world championship.

• The four-time champion German drove his Ferrari with near flawless aplomb to convert his 54th pole position into a triumphant afternoon ahead of Finn Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes and determined Dutchman Max Verstappen, who was third for Red Bull.