26 June 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

26 June 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. K Natarajan to be the new director general of Indian Coast Guard

• Krishnaswamy Natarajan has been appointed as the Director General (DG) of Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
• He will take over from Rajendra Singh, who retires on 30th June 2019.
• Currently, Mr. Natarajan is the Additional Director General of the ICG's Western Sea-Board, which looks after the security of the sensitive maritime boundary from Gujarat to Kerala.
• Mr Natarajan holds a master’s degree in Defence and Strategic Studies from Madras University.

Note:

• The Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (DG ICG) is the head of the Indian Coast Guard.

Source: Business Standard

2. Ann Sarnoff becomes first female CEO of Warner Bros

• WarnerMedia has appointed Ann Sarnoff as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Warner Bros.
• Ann Sarnoff (former BBC executive) has become the first female CEO of Warner Bros.
• Sarnoff will replace Kevin Tsujihara, who was ousted earlier this year as a result of sexual misconduct allegations.

Note:

• Warner Bros. is an American entertainment company (founded in 1923) headquartered in Burbank, California and a subsidiary of AT&T's Warner Media.
• It has operations in film, television and video games and is one of the "Big Five" major American film studios, as well as a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

Source: Fox Business

3. Shefali Juneja appointed India’s representative to ICAO

• Senior bureaucrat Shefali Juneja has been appointed as India’s representative in the Council of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a United Nations body.
• She will replace the senior IAS officer Alok Shekhar.
• Presently, Shefali Juneja is serving as the Joint Secretary in Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Note:

• The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• Its headquarters is located at the Quartier International of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation that are followed by transport safety authorities in countries signatory to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Source: Business Standard

Honours & Awards

4. ‘Kalu’ in Rajasthan is India's best police station

• As per Ranking of Police stations for 2018 by the Home ministry, Rajasthan’s ‘Kalu Police Station’ (in Bikaner district) has been ranked the best Police Station in the country (in 15,666 - PS ) on its performance in crime prevention, investigation and disposal of cases, crime detection, community policing and maintenance of law and order.
• The No-2 rank goes to ‘Campbell Bay police station’ in Nicobar district of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
• The No-3 rank goes to ‘Farakka police station’ in Murshidabad, West Bengal, which has facilities like air-conditioners, besides a gymnasium and playground that provide a comfortable environment for public-police interaction.

Note:

• The 2018 survey covered a set of police stations shortlisted from across the country.
• The stations were evaluated on the basis of crimes against women and SCs/STs, and property-related offences
• Around 20% weightage was also given to the police station’s infrastructure and citizen feedback on the performance of the police personnel posted at the police station.
• The score was calculated depending on the number of FIRs charges sheeted within 60 days.

Source: The Times of India

Important Dates

5. International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking being observed today

• The United Nations’ (UN) International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is being observed every year on 26th June to raise awareness about the major problem that illicit drugs represent to society.
• This year the theme is Health for Justice, Justice for Health, which highlights that justice and health are two sides of the same coin when it comes to addressing drug problems.
• It is an initiative to increase support for prevention of drug use that is based on science and is thus an effective investment in the well-being of children and youth, their families and their communities.
• Union Minister Dr Thawarchand Gehlot flagged off the 17th Run Against Drug Abuse”, on the occasion of ‘International Day Against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking’, in New Delhi.

Note:

• The UN General assembly chose the day in December 1987 to strengthen global action and cooperation to achieve the goal of a society free of drug abuse.

Source: UN. Org

Obituaries

6. Goa freedom fighter Mohan Ranade passes away

• Veteran freedom fighter Mohan Ranade (90-years) passed away after a prolonged illness.
• Mohan Ranade entered Goa under disguise as a teacher in 1950 and founded an organisation called Azad Gomantak Dal to raise an armed revolt against the Portuguese rule.
• He was honoured with the Goa's highest civilian award as well as Padmashri by the Union government.
• Mohan Ranade had penned two books - 'Struggle Unfinished' in English and 'Satiche Vaan' in Marathi - based on his experience during the Goa liberation movement.

Source: India Today

7. Spiritual Leader Swami Satyamitranand Giri Maharaj passes away

• Renowned spiritual guru Swami Satyamitranand Giri Maharaj (87-years) passed away after a prolonged illness.
• The famous seer was the founder and head of Bharat Mata Mandir, a famous temple in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
• He was born as Ambika Prasad in Agra.

Source: Business Standard

Banking and Finance

8. SBI plans to tap Singapore SME businesses

• The State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to expand its market in Singapore by enhancing its relationship across small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
• The SBI has served the Singapore retail and corporate sectors as a qualified full bank since 2008.
• It has six branches and offering ATM services under the ATM5 network across the island state and two remittance centres.
• The SBI plans to offer its YONO app, an omnichannel service at the fingertip, to manage a wide range of financial services here.

Source: DD News

9. World Bank approves USD 147 Million loans to Jharkhand Government

• World Bank has signed USD 147 Million Loan Agreement with the Government of India and the Government of Jharkhand for Jharkhand Municipal Development Project.
• The project will provide basic urban services to the people of Jharkhand and help improve the management capacity of the urban local bodies (ULBs) in the State.

International Affairs

10. UAE launches UN-developed anti-money laundering platform

• The UAE has become the first country in the Gulf to launch a new reporting platform developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to curb organised crimes.
• The UAE’s Financial Intelligence Unit launched the new anti-money laundering platform 'goAML', which has been open for registration since May.
• All financial entities and Designated Non-Financial Businesses or Professions have to register on this system by Thursday.
• More than 900 entities including, banks, insurance companies and money exchange centres, are required to register on the platform and 50% of them have already registered.
• The platform will help the FIU prevent money laundering, financing of terrorism and other illicit financial activities.

Source: AIR News

Sports

11. India's junior women's team adjudged best in Black Forest Cup

• In Boxing, India's junior women pugilists clinched seven medals (gold medal – 5), while the team was adjudged the best of the tournament in the Black Forest Cup in Villingen, Schwenningen, Germany.
• Haryana's Neha (54kg) and Karnataka's Anju Devi (50kg) claimed the honours of best boxer and promising player of the tournament.
• Ten countries including India, Ukraine, Germany, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Mongolia, Greece, and Poland took part in this tournament.

12. Girish Koushik becomes India's 63rd Grandmaster

• Karnataka's Girish A. Koushik (22-years) has become India’s 63rd Grandmaster at the 37th Balaton International Chess Festival in Hungary.
• He is the only Indian chess player to have won gold medals at the Asian U-8, U-10, U-12, U-14 and U-16 age-group categories.
• Girish had completed his second GM norm in Mallorca late in May, and the third in Budapest the following week.
• World popular Chess player Mr. Viswanathan Anand was the first Grandmaster in India.

Note:

• Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE.
• FIDE awards separate Grandmaster titles to composers and solvers of chess problems, International Grandmaster for chess compositions to the former and International Solving Grandmaster to the latter.
• The International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) awards the title of International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster (ICCGM).

Source: The Hindu