Daily Current Affairs for 7th & 8th June 2017( English)

1.       US President Donald trump has nominated lawyer and former Justice Department official Christopher Wray as the new FBI Director.

2.       India’s textile and fashion heritage became the part of Google project ‘we Wear Culture “, working with 183 renowned cultural institutions from around the world including India  this project explores the history of clothes dating as early  as 3000 years agofrom the  ancient silk road to the unmatched elegance of the Indian Saree.

3.       The Union Minister of Health and family welfare JP Nadda was conferred with Who Director -General’s recognition award for global tobacco control  , this award was presented to him by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia at the ‘National Consultation on Accelerating Implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) for achievement of SDGs’. India is the second largest tobacco consuming country in the world.

4.       Scientists have discovered the hottest known exoplanet, designated KELT-9b which is warmer than most stars in the universe. The study has been published in the journal Nature.

5.       According to UNCTAD’s ( United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) World Investment Report 2017, India continues to remain as a favourite destination for FDI even though tax related concerns remain as a deterrent for the foreign investors. According to the report, the favourite destinations for FDI are the US, China and India. 

6.       According to BMI Research, a Fitch group company, India is among the top five consumer markets in Asia offering retailers the strongest consumer spending growth of an average of 6.1% over the next five years. The other four countries are China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Indonesia. As per the report, the real consumer spending growth in 2017 will be 6.2%.

7.        ‘Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh’, a National Human Milk Bank and Lactation Counselling has been inaugurated by Centre Health Secretary C K Mishra at the Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) in New Delhi. This centre would be the largest public sector human milk bank and lactation counselling centre available in North India. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also launched Mothers Absolute Affection (MAA) programme to create awareness regarding breastfeeding among mothers for enhancing the child’s immunity.

8.       The Reserve Bank of India has kept repo rate unchanged at 6.25% in its second bi-monthly monetary policy review. Reverse Repo rate has been kept unchanged at 6%. The RBI has cut the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) by 50 basis points to 20%. RBI has reduced the growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.3% from 7.4%.

9.       Sachin Tendulkar will join other global celebrities  for UNICEF’s ‘Super Dads’ campaign that highlights the critical role played by fathers in children’s early development. The initiative is aimed at celebrating fatherhood and highlights the importance of love, play, protection and good nutrition for the healthy development of the brains of the young children.

10.   Sher Bahadur Deuba has become the 40th Prime Minister of Nepal for the fourth time. Last month, Maoist leader Prachanda Kamal Dahal resigned under a power sharing deal with the Nepali Congress leader.

11.   499 new species have been discovered from various parts of the country(India) last year  according to the Animal Discoveries 2016, New Species and Records, brought out by the Zoological Survey of India and Plant Discoveries 2016, by the Botanical Survey of India

12.   Kerala State government has come out with a green protocol to make the weddings in the state more nature-friendly. Suchitwa Mission which is the state nodal agency for sanitation, has already launched the initiative on a pilot basis in Kannur, Ernakulam, Kollam and Alappuzha. As per the protocol, plastic and other non-biodegradable articles including disposable glasses and plates and thermocol decorations will not be permitted to be used in wedding ceremonies.

13.   India has signed an agreement with Sri Lanka to provide USD 318 million as line of credit for developing Sri Lanka’s railway sector. So far India has provided four lines of credit to Sri Lanka for developing its railway sector that totally amounted to USD 966 million.

14.   The Uttar Pradesh state government  aimed  to bring the curriculum of UP Board at par with the CBSE. The decision to introduce NCERT books is expected to come into force with the academic year 2018-19.

15.   The finance Ministry has asked all those ministries tasked with clearing foreign direct investment proposals in the 12 sectors that require government’s nod to take a decision on such proposals within 60 days. 

16.   Hoshiar Singh, has been appointed as Registrar of Copyrights for a period of five years as per the recent order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

17.   Union Government launches Skills for life, save a Life initiative aims to scale up the quantity and quality of trained professionals in the health care system.

18.   The Union Government would be appointing Nyaya Mitras across the country to speed up the hearing of cases that have been pending in lower court for the last 10 years.

19.   Scientists have discovered a new species of flying squirrel named Glaucomys oregonensis in North America, it is also known as Humboldt’s flying squirrel.

20.   Nepal’s first Woman Chief Justice Sushila Karki retired on 8^th June 2017, she was succeeded by Justice Gopal Parajuli.

21.    Sam Pitroda resigns as Technical advisor to Odisha government, as he was named as Chairman of Congress Overseas Cell.

22.   June 8 – World Ocean Day with the theme “ Our Oceans, Our Future “

23.   NASA has chosen 12 new astronauts, including an Indian-American (Lt Col. Raja Grinder Chari) from a record number of over 18000 applicants who will be trained for missions into earth orbit and to deep space.

24.   India’s Presidential Election to be held on 17^th July 2017 .The President of India is elected by electoral college comprising elected members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and State Legislative assemblies.