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CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Banks asked to issue KCC to eligible farmers within 2 weeks of submitting application
- The Centre has directed the concerned banks to issue Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to eligible ones within two weeks of the submission of completed application.
- Currently, there are 6.95 crore active KCCs, under which crop loans are given at subsidised interest rate. KCC has been extended to farmers involved in animal husbandry and fishery activities as well
- Normally, farm loans attract an interest rate of 9 per cent. But the government is providing 2 per cent interest subsidy to ensure farmers get short-term farm loan of up to Rs. 3 lakh at an effective rate of 7 per cent per annum.
- An additional incentive of 3 per cent is being given to farmers for prompt repayment of loans within due date, making the effective interest rate 4 per cent.
Culture Minister, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, inaugurates the exhibition-‘Astitva’
- Shri Prahalad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/c) of Culture & Tourism, Government of India will inaugurate the exhibition titled “Astitva: The Essence of Prabhakar Barwe”, at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi,
- ‘Astitva : The essence of Prabhakar Barwe’, is the first of its kind to be held in New Delhi that will present his artistic oeuvre in four distinct phases.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
RBI to pump in ₹12,500 crore liquidity on June 20
- The Reserve Bank of India stated that it will infuse ₹12,500 crore into the financial system through bond purchases on June 20
- The purchase of government securities under the Open Market Operation (OMO) for ₹125 billion ( ₹12,500 crore) will be conducted on June 20, 2019.
- Earlier in the day, the RBI injected ₹15,000 crore into the system through bond purchases.
- The RBI uses open market operations (OMO) for injecting liquidity into the system through the purchase of government bonds (G-sec).
FDI flow into India rises 6% to $42 billion in 2018: UNCTAD
- Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to India grew by 6 per cent to USD 42 billion in 2018, with strong inflows in the manufacturing, communication and financial services sectors, and cross-border merger and acquisition activities, according to a UN report that ranked India among the top 20 host economies for FDI inflows in 2017-18.
- India ranks 10th amongst the top recipients of FDI in 2018
- The World Investment Report 2019, released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Wednesday, said global FDI flows slid by 13 per cent in 2018 to USD 1.3 trillion from USD 1.5 trillion the previous year the third consecutive annual decline
- India and UAE were considered among the top 10 most important sources of FDI for the 2019 to 2021 period
- India’s FDI outflows more than doubled in 2017 to $11.3 bn, mostly led by ONGC, which bought a 15% stake in an offshore field in Namibia from Tullow Oil
Centre reduces rate of ESI contribution to 4% from 6.5%
- The government has reduced the rate of contribution towards the Employees’ State Insurance scheme from 6.5% to 4%.
- After the reduction of rates, effective from July 1, 2019, employers’ contribution will be reduced to 3.25% from current rate of 4.75% while employees’ contribution will be reduced from 1.75% to 0.75%, as per the provisions of the Employees’ State Insurance Act 1948.
- The move “would benefit 12.85 lakh employers and over 3.6 crore employees.”
- ESI Act, 1948 applies to organisations where 10 or more people are employed. All employees drawing salary upto Rs 21,000 are covered under the Act.
SEBI directs rating agencies to disclose probability of default
- The markets regulator directed credit rating companies to start disclosing the probability of default for the issuers they rate, troubled by the raters’ track record of detecting defaults or near-defaults.
- Rating companies, in consultation with the regulator, will now create a uniform probability of default benchmark for each rating category on their website, for one-year, two-year and three-year cumulative default rates, both for the short term and long term
- The regulator introduced computation of cumulative default rates (CDR), standard operating procedure (SOP) in respect of tracking and timely recognition of default, probability of default (PD) benchmarks, rating symbol for instruments having explicit credit enhancement feature, disclosure of rating sensitivities in press release, disclosure on liquidity indicators and tracking deviations in bond spreads.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) |
| SEBI Headquarters | Mumbai |
| SEBI Chairman | Ajay Tyagi |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS
Amitav Ghosh conferred with Jnanpith award
- Renowned author Amitav Ghosh was awarded the 54th Jnanpith Award for his contribution to the enrichment of Indian literature in English at a ceremony here on Wednesday.
- He was conferred the award by former governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
- Amitav Ghosh is the first English writer to get this prestigious award.
- The Jnanpith award is the highest literary award in India and can only be conferred upon an Indian citizen. English language was added to the list of languages for consideration after the 49th Jnanpith Award.
- The award consisted of a shawl, citation, statue of goddess Saraswati and Rs. 11 lakh
- His recent novel “Gun Island” is set for its official launch
CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING
RIL, HDFC among 57 Indian companies on Forbes magazine’s Global 2000 list
- As many as 57 Indian companies figure in Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s 2000 largest public companies, HDFC Ltd being named among the top ten consumer finance firms.
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) topped the list for the seventh year in a row. Reliance Industries was the top-ranked Indian company (ranked 71st globally).
- In the oil and gas sector, Royal Dutch Shell is ranked first and Reliance Industries is ranked 11th.
- In the consumer financial sector, American Express has topped the chart while HDFC Ltd is ranked 7th.
- On the overall Global 2000 list, HDFC is ranked 332nd.
- Out of the 61 countries represented on the list, the US accounts for the largest number of 575 companies, followed by China and Hong Kong (309) and Japan (223).
- In the overall top-ten, ICBC is followed by JP Morgan, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of America, Apple, Ping An Insurance Group, Bank of China, Royal Dutch Shell and Wells Fargo.
- From India, Reliance Industries is the only one in the overall top-200 list. The company is followed by HDFC Bank at 209th, ONGC at 220th, Indian Oil at 288th and HDFC Ltd at 332nd place.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMIT AND CONFERENCE
Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2019 Begins in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
- The two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit begins in Bishkek
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the plenary session of the SCO Summit, and will present his vision for the regional cooperation and development.
- Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will also be attending the summit. This will be the first time two leaders will come face to face after months of tensions between the two countries
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral meetings with Presidents of China and Russia at Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek
- India and Pakistan became full members of the SCO in 2017
- SCO Founded in 2001, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ujbekistan are the founding members of the organisation
CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOBILE APP AND PORTAL
US embassy launches app for students who wish to study in US
- The US embassy has launched a mobile application that gives comprehensive and latest information about studying in the United States
- The app — EducationUSA — was launched in collaboration with the United States India Educational Foundation and is available on both Android and iOS platforms for free
- The app will act as the first point of information for students, parents, school counsellors and other interested users who want to know about the US higher education but don’t know where to begin
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
HCL to roll out “Tech Bee” programme
- HCL Technologies is all set to roll out “Tech Bee”, a company initiative under which it trains and hires students who have completed Plus Two, across several states
- Tech Bee, HCL’s early career programme provides students an opportunity to start early, become financially independent and trendsetters.
- Enrolled students are paid stipend of ₹10,000 per month, she explained.
India to launch first solar mission Aditya-L1 in 2020
- Indian Space Research Organisation has announced that India will launch its first mission to study the sun named Aditya-L1 in the year 2020.
- Aditya-L1 is meant to observe the solar corona and the aim of the mission is to keep a permanent eye on the sun without any disturbance
- Aditya-L1 mission is expected to be inserted in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) – which is 1.5 million km from the earth
CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES
Poet, lyricist Pazhavila Ramesan passed away
- Poet and lyricist Pazhavila Ramesan has passed away
- Ramesan had received the 2017 Kerala Sahithya Akademi award for overall contribution
- He had penned songs for films like Asamsakalode, Malooty, Uncle Bun, Vasudha and others. He also penned literary works like Mazhayude Jalakam, Njan Enter Kadukalilekku, Ormayude Varthamanam, Mayatha Varakal, Nervara and others.