Current Affairs – June 16 and 17, 2018
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IMPORTANT DAYS
June 16 – International Domestic Workers Day (IDWD)
- The International Domestic Workers Day (IDWD) is celebrated every year across the world on June 16 to assert the rights of this vast but hidden workforce. On this day in 2011, IDWD was declared to commemorate the adoption of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention.
NATIONAL
NewDelhi
Trains to get vacuum bio-toilets
- After installing bio-toilets in a majority of train coaches, the Indian Railways is now mulling to replace them with “upgraded” vacuum bio-toilets.
National domestic council to promote gems and jewellery sector
- A national domestic council will be formed to promote the growth of the labour-intensive gems and jewellery sector in the country.
Haryana
Auxiliary Production Unit & Artificial Limbs Fitting Centre
- The Foundation stone of “Auxiliary Production Unit and State-of-the-Art Artificial Limbs Fitting Centre” of Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) under Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) at Faridabad, Haryana.
SCIENCE
Novel gold nanocomplex for cancer drug delivery
- Using gold nanoparticles coated with a simple organic molecule (porphyrin), researchers from CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, have designed an efficient drug nanocarrier.
- The nanocarrier was found to effectively deliver doxorubicin (anti-tumour drug) to the nucleus of the diseased cell and bring about programmed cell death.
WHO recommends quadrivalent influenza vaccine
- Sanofi Pasteur’s injectable influenza vaccine (FluQuadri) containing two A virus strains H1N1 and H3N2 and two B virus strains Victoria and Yamagata for active immunisation of adults of age 18 to 64 years was approved in May last year by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).
IIT Hyderabad builds dataset to understand online user-engagement
- IIT Hyderabad has built DAiSEE (Dataset for Affective States in E-Environments), the first multilabel video-classification dataset for recognising boredom, confusion, frustration and engagement. The dataset comprises 9,068 video snippets captured from 112 individuals.
Russia launches Glonass-M navigation satellite
- Russia successfully launched a Glonass-M positioning satellite using a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket.
- The Glonass network provides real-time positioning data for surface, sea and airborne objects around the globe, at accuracy reportedly on par with the U.S. Global Positioning System.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
U.S. pips India as top greenfield FDI destination
- The U.S. has surpassed India to become the top destination for greenfield FDI investment in 2017.
MOU, AGREEMENTS & CABINET APPROVALS
Greece, Macedonia sign pact to change ex-Yugoslav republic’s name to ‘Republic of North Macedonia’
- The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia signed an accord to rename the former Yugoslav republic as the “Republic of North Macedonia’.
SUMMITS & CONFERENCES
Fourth Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog Concludes
- The fourth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog was held under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
- It was attended by 23 Chief Ministers and the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, apart from Union Ministers, who are ex-officio members and special invitees.
DEFENCE
Graduation of 113 Flight Cadets as Flying Officers of the IAF
- A total number of 113 Flight Cadets including 13 women cadets were commissioned as Flying Officers, at their alma-mater, the Air Force Academy, the ‘Cradle of IAF Leadership’ that has moulded generations of prodigious aviation leaders.
SCHEMES
New auto policy likely to be finalised in 3 months
- The new National Auto Policy, which may seek emission-linked taxation on automobiles and a technology- agnostic green mobility roadmap, is likely to be finalised in the next three months.
RANKINGS & INDEXES
T.N. ranked 13 in hawkers’ welfare
- The State has achieved 71.68% of the target under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission
- Tamil Nadu ranks 13th in the Support for Urban Street Vendors Programme implemented under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) scheme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
AWARDS
- Flying Officer Tarun Nair from the Flying branch was awarded President’s Plaque and the Chief of the Air Staff ‘Sword of Honour’ for standing first in Overall Merit in Pilot Course.
- Flying Officer Abhishek Bajpai and Flying Officer Banti were awarded President’s Plaque for being first in overall merit in Navigation and Ground Duty branches respectively.
APPOINTMENTS
- Meghana Shanbough – IAF’s First Women Fighter Pilot From Karnataka.
- She will be the sixth woman fighter pilot to be inducted in the IAF.
SPORTS
ITF women’s tennis: Prarthana-Luksika pair triumphs
- Prarthana Thombare and Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand clinched the title, shocking top seeds Naomi Broady of Great Britain and Asia Mukhammad of the United States in the ITF women’s tennis tournament.
24 Hours Le Mans race
- Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso won the 24 Hours Le Mans on his debut in the classic endurance race to move closer to motorsport’s unofficial Triple Crown.
18th Kumar Surendra Singh shooting championship
- Meghana and Tejas Krishna get mixed air rifle gold at the 18th Kumar Surendra Singh shooting championship.
Stuttgart Open final Tennis
- Roger Federer defeated Nick Kyrgios 6-7 (2), 6-2, 7-6 (5) to book his place in the Stuttgart Open final and reclaim the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal.
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