04th and 05th June 2021 Current Affairs

Important Days

World Bicycle Day celebrated on 3rd June

United Nations celebrates World Bicycle Day every year on 3rd June to advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development.

The day aims to strengthen education for children and young people, preventing disease, promoting health, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding, and respect, and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace.

The day was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2018. World Bicycle Day is being observed every year to encourage member nations to give particular attention to the bicycle in cross-cutting development strategies and to improve road safety and integrate it into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design. It also aims to promote the bicycle among all members of society.

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression: 04 June

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is observed globally on 4th June every year.

This day affirms the UN’s commitment to guard the rights of children. This day is to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the planet who are the victims of physical, mental, and emotional abuse.

The main aim of celebrating today is to spread the notice about the pain and sufferings faced by the victims as children.

On August 19, 1982, during an emergency session on the question of Palestine, the UN General Assembly, appalled at the amount of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese child victims of Israel’s acts of aggression, decided to commemorate 4 June of every year because of the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.

National

Union Cabinet approves MoC between India-Japan on urban development

The Union Cabinet has approved a memorandum of cooperation between India-Japan in the field of sustainable urban development.

A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Sustainable Urban Development has been signed between the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Government of India and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Government of Japan.

A Joint Working Group (JWG) will be also formed to implement the programmes on cooperation under the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC). The JWG will meet once a year.

The MoC will strengthen the technical cooperation in the field of Urban Planning, Smart Cities Development, Affordable Housing (including rental housing), Urban Flood Management, Sewerage and Waste Water Management, etc.

The best practices and key learnings will be exchanged between India and Japan in the field of Sustainable Urban Development.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

Japan Capital: Tokyo;
Japan Currency: Japanese yen;

Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates Indus Best Mega Food Park in Chhattisgarh

Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Narendra Singh Tomar virtually inaugurated the Indus Best MegaFood Park along with Bhupesh Baghel, Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh, and in presence of Rameswar Teli, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries.

The Mega Food Park will ensure value addition, the longer shelf life for farm produce, better price realization for farmers, excellent storage facility and will provide an alternate market for farmers in the region.

The Park will also provide direct and indirect employment to about 5,000 persons and benefit about 25,000 farmers in the CPC and PPC catchment areas.

The modern infrastructure for food processing created at Park will benefit the processors and consumers of Chhattisgarh and adjoining areas immensely and prove to be a big boost to the growth of the food processing sector in the State of Chhattisgarh.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh: Bhupesh Baghel; Governor: Anusuiya Uikey.

International News

Isaac Herzog Elected as President of Israel

Veteran Israeli politician, Isaac Herzog, has been elected as the President of the country on June 01, 2021, during the 120 members parliamentary election for 2021.

The 60-year-old Herzog will be the 11th President of Israel, assuming office with effect from July 09, 2021. He will succeed Reuven Rivlin, who is set to complete his tenure in July 2021 after seven years in office.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

Prime Minister of Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel Capital: Jerusalem.
Israel Currency: Israeli Shekel.

China developed a combined air defence system along LAC

China has created a combined air defence system along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The combined air defence system has been developed with the elements of the air force and army of western theatre command.

For the first time, an integrated army air defence system has been developed by china along the western borders.

The combined air defence system has been developed for putting all assets of the army and air force under central control. Since 2017, China has increased the number of airbases and heliports near the LAC.

China reports first human case of H10N3 bird flu

A 41-year-old man in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu has been confirmed as the first human case of infection with the H10N3 strain of bird flu, China’s National Health Commission (NHC).

The man, a resident of the city of Zhenjiang, was hospitalised on April 28 after developing a fever and other symptoms. He was diagnosed as having the H10N3 avian influenza virus.

H10N3 is a low pathogenic, or relatively less severe, the strain of the virus in poultry and the risk of it spreading on a large scale was very low.

Many different strains of avian influenza are present in China and some sporadically infect people, usually those working with poultry.

There have been no significant numbers of human infections with bird flu since the H7N9 strain killed around 300 people during 2016-2017.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

China Capital: Beijing.
China Currency: Renminbi.
China President: Xi Jinping.

Appointments

WhatsApp appoints Paresh B Lal as Grievance Officer for India

The Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has named Paresh B Lal as the Grievance Officer for India.

WhatsApp has updated the details on its website for how to contact Mr Lal because, under the IT law, social media companies are required to display the names and other details of their grievance officers on their websites.

The appointment is in line with the government’s new IT order that requires all the tech companies, like Google, Facebook, WhatsApp to appoint a grievance officer, nodal officer and a chief compliance officer from India. The grievance officer shall address the complaint within 24 hours and dispose of the complaint within 15 days.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

WhatsApp Founded: 2009;
WhatsApp CEO: Will Cathcart (Mar 2019–);
WhatsApp Headquarters: Menlo Park, California, United States;
WhatsApp Acquisition date: 19 February 2014;
WhatsApp Founders: Jan Koum, Brian Acton;
WhatsApp Parent organization: Facebook.

Lt. General Pradeep Chandran Nair takes charge as DG of Assam Rifles

Lieutenant General Pradeep Chandran Nair, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), Yudh Seva Medal (YSM) took over as the 21st Director General of the Assam Rifles (popularly known as Sentinels of the North-East).

He has rich experience of Assam Rifles and the North East, having earlier served as an Inspector General and a Company Commander in Assam Rifles, besides having commanded Assam Rifles battalions as a Brigade Commander.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

The Assam Rifles came into being in 1835;
Assam Rifles HQ: Shillong, Meghalaya.

Dr Vinay K Nandicoori appointed as Director of CCMB

Former IITian, Dr. Vinay K Nandicoori, has been appointed as the Director at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, Telangana. He is a well-known molecular biologist, and a scientist at the DBT-National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi.

Dr. Nandicoori’s research interest extensively spans molecular signaling networks in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the micro-organism that causes TB. His research has found national and international relevance and recognition.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology Founded: 1977.

Dr Patrick Amoth of Kenya Appointed as Chair of WHO Executive Board

Dr Patrick Amoth, the acting Director-General for Health, Ministry of Health of Kenya has been appointed as the Chairman of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Executive Board, for a period of one year.

The announcement was made during the 149th session of the WHO Executive Board, on June 02, 2021, by the outgoing Chair Dr Harsh Vardhan.

Mr Amoth replaces Union Health Minister, Government of India, Dr Harsh Vardhan, who completed his tenure as Chairman of WHO Executive Board on June 02, 2021.

Dr Vardhan will continue to be a member of the Executive Board of WHO till 2023. The chairman’s post is held on a rotation basis for one year among regional groups.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

Kenya Capital: Nairobi;
Kenya Currency: Kenyan shilling;
Kenya President:Uhuru Kenyatta.

Amul’s RS Sodhi elected to board of International Dairy Federation

The International Dairy Federation (IDF) has unanimously elected R S Sodhi, managing director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd or GCMMF that sells Amul branded products in India, to its board during the general assembly held on 1 June.

He is alumni of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA). He joined GCMMF (Amul) in the year 1982 after completing his post-graduation from IRMA.

IDF is an international non-governmental, non-profit association and represents the global dairy sector. The federation ensures that the right policies, standards, practices, and regulations monitor the production of dairy products globally.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

DG of International Dairy Federation:Caroline Emond;
International Dairy Federation Established: 1903.

Agreements

IPPB ties up with Mahindra Rural Housing Finance for cash management solution

Mahindra Rural Housing Finance Limited (MRHFL), a subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Ltd, and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) have tied up a strategic partnership for a cash management solution.

As part of the tie-up, IPPB will be offering cash management and collection services to MRHFL through its access points and postal service providers.

Mahindra Rural Housing Finance said in a statement, adding that with the cash management service, its customers will be able to repay their monthly or quarterly loan instalments at over 1.36 lakh post offices.

Cash management being the lifeline of business operations, IPPB with its robust network and technology platform can help corporates to manage their receivables safely, securely, and seamlessly.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

MD and CEO of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB): J Venkatramu.
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) Headquarters: New Delhi.

Bharti AXA Life in bancassurance pact with Shivalik Small Finance Bank

Private life insurer Bharti AXA Life Insurance has entered into a bancassurance partnership with Shivalik Small Finance Bank for the distribution of its life insurance products through the bank’s pan-India network of branches.

This alliance is a part of the bank’s various measures towards financial inclusion and acceleration of wealth creation for its customers.

Bharti AXA Life Insurance will offer its suite of life insurance products, including protection, health, savings and investment plans, to customers of Shivalik Small Finance Bank across its 31 branches and digital network across the country.

This alliance will enable over 4.5 lakh customers of Shivalik Bank to access the range of products offered by the company to provide financial security.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

MD and CEO of Bharti AXA Life Insurance: Parag Raja;
Bharti AXA Life Insurance Founded: 2005.

ADB and India signed an agreement for a road up-gradation project in Sikkim

The Asian Development Bank and the Government of India signed an agreement for financing road up-gradation project in Sikkim.

ADB will give a $2.5 million project readiness financing (PRF) loan to support projects related to upgradation of major district roads in Sikkim. It will improve the connectivity and also boost the economic activities in the state.

The project readiness nancing (PRF) will help in connecting the major district and other roads with the national and state highway network.

In 2011, the ADB-funded North Eastern State Roads Investment Program was launched to improve road connectivity in Sikkim.

The state agencies will prepare detailed engineering designs of selected sub-projects and do feasibility studies. Sikkim’s road network requires regular up-gradation due to frequent landslides and erosion.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

ADB is a regional development bank established in 1966;
ADB Members: 68 countries (49 members are from Asia pacific region);
ADB is headquartered in Mandaluyong, Philippines;
Masatsugu Asakawa is the current president of ADB.

SCO Agreement On Mass Media Cooperation Gets India’s Retrospective Nod

The Cabinet accorded an ex post facto approval for signing and ratifying an agreement on cooperation in the field of mass media between all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

The agreement aims to promote equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among associations in the field of mass media. The agreement, which was signed in June 2019, would provide an opportunity for the member states to share best practices and new innovations in the field of mass media.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which was announced on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai.

SCO comprises eight countries: India, Kazakhstan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Banking

ICICI Lombard companions with Microsoft to automate audits of service calls

The country’s largest private sector general insurer, ICICI Lombard has tied up with Microsoft to strengthen and automate the quality control processes.

The insurer will make use of Microsoft’s Azure Speech Services and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to screen its daily service calls made by customer service reps.

The deployment of Azure’s synthetic instruments has, amongst different issues, allowed ICICI Lombard to enhance the accuracy of its high-quality audits.

In response to Girish Nayak, ICICI Lombard’s chief expertise officer, the usage of cognitive intelligence expertise will automate high-quality checks which can in flip make their service extra environment friendly.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

ICICI Lombard CEO: Bhargav Dasgupta.
ICICI Lombard Headquarters: Mumbai.
ICICI Lombard Founded: 2001.

Summits and Conferences

UN Sustainable Transport Conference will take place in China

The second United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference will be held from 14-16 October 2021 in Beijing, China.

It will provide an opportunity to focus attention on the opportunities, challenges and solutions towards achieving sustainable transport worldwide.

The conference will follow up on the first Global Sustainable Transport Conference, held in 2016 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and is expected to indicate a way forward for sustainable transport to help achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

BRICS Foreign Minister meeting concluded virtually

External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar has chaired the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers through video conferencing. Foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa participated in this meeting.

In this meeting, Ministers agreed to cooperate on the pillars of political and security, economic and finance, and People to people and cultural exchanges.

They also discuss the social and economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and also agreed on the need for reform in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations.

They also discussed many issues including sustainable development, Terrorism, intra-BRICS cooperation, etc.

All member countries adopted and released the ‘BRICS Joint Ministerial Statement on Strengthening and Reforming of the Multilateral System’.

The Ministers reiterated their commitment to establishing BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

BRICS is a group formed by five major emerging countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
South Africa joined the group in 2010.
India will host the 13th BRICS summit in 2021.

Ranks and Reports

Kerala retains top rank in Niti Aayog’s 3rd SDG India Index 2020-21

Kerala has retained the top rank in Niti Aayog’s 3rd edition of SDG India Index 2020-21, while Bihar has been adjudged as the worst performer.

The Index for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) evaluates the progress of states and union territories on social, economic and environmental parameters.

Kerala retained its rank as the top state with a score of 75.

The third rendition of India’s SDG Index was launched by Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on 3rd June.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

NITI Aayog Formed: 1 January 2015.
NITI Aayog Headquarters: New Delhi.
NITI Aayog Chairperson: Narendra Modi.

Wipro becomes third Indian IT firm to scale Rs 3 trillion market cap

Wipro has touched Rs 3 trillion in market capitalisation for the first time, becoming the third Indian IT firm to achieve the milestone after Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys.

The company won its largest deal ever from German retailer Metro and has seen deal wins of $7.1 billion. India has a total of 13 listed firms that have crossed the Rs 3 trillion m-cap. Wipro now ranks 14th.

Reliance Industries is India’s most valued company with a market capitalization of ₹14.05 trillion, followed by Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and HDFC Bank with an m-cap of ₹11.58 trillion and ₹8.33 trillion, respectively.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

Chairman of Wipro Limited: Rishad Premji.
Wipro Headquarters: Bengaluru;
Wipro MD and CEO: Thierry Delaporte.

Economy News

RBI Governor Addressed On RBI Monetary Policy 2021

The six-member monetary policy committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) headed by Governor Shaktikanta Das, has decided to keep key lending rates unchanged for the sixth consecutive time, in its June 2021 policy review meeting held between June 2 to 4, 2021.

The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to continue with an accommodative stance until necessary to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. The next meeting of the MPC is scheduled from August 4 to 6, 2021.

The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and bank rates remain unchanged:

Policy Repo Rate: 4.00%
Reverse Repo Rate: 3.35%
Marginal Standing Facility Rate: 4.25%
Bank Rate: 4.25%
CRR: 4%
SLR: 18.00%

RBI Monetary Policy Highlights & Key Decisions:

The RBI also downgraded the GDP growth forecast for FY22 to 9.5 per cent compared with 10.5 per cent earlier.

On the other hand, growth is a bigger concern. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted 7.3 per cent in FY21.

Recently, SBI economists had sharply cut their FY22 GDP growth estimates to 7.9 per cent from what was 10.4 per cent earlier.

The Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das announced a projection for Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation at 5.1 per cent for FY 2021-22.

G-SAP 2.0 worth ₹1.2 lakh crore will be taken in the second quarter of FY22 to support the market.

The rupee snapped its three-day losing streak and closed 18 paise higher at 72.91 against the US dollar.

Defence News

Navy’s Hydrographic Survey Ship Sandhayak To Be Decommissioned

Indian Navy’s hydrographic survey ship, Sandhayak would be decommissioned after serving the nation for 40 years.

The decommissioning ceremony of INS Sandhayak will be held at naval dockyard Visakhapatnam and will be a low-key event attended only by in-station officers and sailors with strict observance of COVID-19 protocols.

The ship, during its commissioned service, undertook approximately 200 major hydrographic surveys and numerous minor surveys in both east and west coasts of the country, the Andaman seas as well as in the neighboring countries.

Science and Technology

XraySetu Launched to Detect Covid in Rural Population via WhatsApp

A new AI-driven platform called ‘XraySetu’ has been developed to help in the early detection of COVID 19, with the help of Chest X-ray.

The solution will be beneficial for early detection especially in rural areas, where RT-PCR tests and CT-Scans are not easily available. XraySetu will operate through WhatsApp. It will identify COVID positive patients even from low-resolution Chest X-Ray images sent over Whatsapp-based Chatbot.

The solution has been developed by ARTPARK (AI & Robotics Technology Park), a not-for-profit foundation established by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, with support from the Department of Science & Technology (DST), GOI, in collaboration with Bangalore based HealthTech startup Niramai and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

Sports News

ICC Expands Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup to 14 teams

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that the Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2027 and 2031, will once again be a 14-team, 54-match tournament.

Earlier in the 2019 World Cup, only 10 teams contested, compared to 14 teams in the 2015 World Cup.

These 14 teams will split into two groups of seven, top three from each group will be progressing to a Super Six stage, followed by semifinals and final.

ICC has also decided to expand the men’s T20 World Cup to 20 teams. The tournament will take place every two years from 2024-2030.

Useful notes for all competitive exams:

Chairman of ICC: Greg Barclay.
CEO of ICC: Manu Sawhney.
Headquarters of ICC: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Miscellaneous News

Microsoft launches the first ever Asia-Pacific cybersecurity council

The first Asia Pacific Public Sector Cyber Security Executive Council has been launched by Microsoft. It consists of policymakers and influencers from Brunei, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

The council aims to accelerate public-private partnerships in cybersecurity and share threat intelligence.

The council will meet virtually on a quarterly basis. As part of the council, government agencies and state leaders will join a forum.

The forum includes Microsoft and its cybersecurity industry advisors. Encounter rates for malware and ransomware attacks are higher than average in the case of APAC. APAC means Asia-Pacific (Asia PAC-ic).

Useful notes for all competitive exams: