GK & Current Affairs June 2016

Scientists in June 2016 declared Bramble Cay melomys found only on a tiny island on the Great Barrier Reef as extinct.
It is the first recorded extinction of a mammal anywhere in the world thought to be primarily due to human-induced climate change.
The news was revealed in the report of a survey led by Ian Gynther from Queensland’s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection in partnership with the University of Queensland.
•    The root cause of the extinction was reported to be high tides and surging seawater, which has travelled inland across the island.
•    As a result of rising seas, the island was inundated on multiple occasions killing the animals. The rising seas also destroyed their habitat.
•    The Bramble Cay melomys are also known as Australian Great Barrier Reef rodent or Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat.
•    It was a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
•    It was similar to the Cape York melomys except that it had some protein differences and a coarser tail caused by elevated scales.
•    It was prominent in herdfields and strandline vegetation where it built burrows.
•    It was Australia's most isolated mammal.
•    The Bramble Cay melomys was first discovered by Europeans in April 1845.
•    The species was then apparently in high densities.
•    It was not until the first part of the following century that the species was formally described as Melomys rubicola based on a specimen collected by MacGillivray.

The Union cabinet on 15 June 2016 approved the merger of the State Bank of India (SBI) with the five subsidiaries of Bank.
The cabinet approved the merger of the following subsidiaries- 
•    State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur
•    State Bank of Hyderabad
•    State Bank of Mysore
•    State Bank of Patiala
•    State Bank of Travancore 
•    Apart from this, the Bharatiya Mahila Bank will also be merged with the SBI and the cabinet had cleared this proposal too.
•    The merger will create a behemoth with an asset base of 37 lakh crore rupees with 22500 branches and nearly 60000 automated teller machines.
•    The merger necessitates changes in various acts that govern the functioning of the SBI and its subsidiary banks - which require further cabinet approval.
•    The merger will make SBI as one of the top 50 banks in the world as currently no Indian bank features in the top 50 banks of the world.
•    SBI had seven associate banks, of which it has merged State Bank of Saurashtra and State Bank of Indore with itself over the last 10 years. The parent bank had advances of 15.09 trillion rupees and deposits of 17.31 trillion rupees as of the end of the March quarter.
Bank consolidation was proposed by the Union Government in March 2016 at a congregation of bankers and government officials where various issues pertaining to banks were discussed

The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) released National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) 2016 on 15 June 2016. The policy’s mission is to  provide  safe,  secure,  affordable  and  sustainable air travel  for passengers  and  air  transportation  of  cargo  with  access to various parts of India and the world.
•    Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS): It will not allow the airlines to charge more than 2500 rupees for one hour flight between two small cities. The RCS will come into effect in the second quarter of 2016-17.
•    Code-share agreements: Indian carriers will be free to enter into code-share agreements with foreign carriers for any destination within India on a reciprocal basis. Indian carriers need to simply inform Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA)30 days prior to starting the code-share flights.
•    Encourage Private Security: The Government will encourage use of private security agencies at airports for non-core security functions. The private security agencies will comprise retired personnel from military and para-military forces.
•    No-Frills Airports: They will be built at an indicative cost of 50 crore to 100 crore rupees.
•    Viability Gap Funding (VGF): It will be shared between MoCA and the State Government in the ratio of 80:20 while it is 90:10 for the North Eastern States.
•    The payment of the full amount of VGF will be made to the airline operator from the Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF) and the State Governments will be subsequently asked reimbursement.
•    MoCA’s share of VGF will be provided through the RCF, which will be collected and operated by Airport Authority of India (AAI) or any other entity identified by MoCA.
•    MoCA will persuade State Governments to make Value Added Tax (VAT) zero-rated on MRO activities to develop India asan MRO hub in Asia.
•    5/20 Rule: The requirement for 5/20 is modified and all airlines can commence international operations provided that they deploy 20 aircraft or 20 percent of total capacity (in term of average number of seats on all epartures put together), whichever is higher for domestic operations.
•    Bilateral Traffic Rights: Under this, government will enter into an ‘Open sky’ ASA on a reciprocal basis with SAARC countries and countries with territory located entirely beyond a 5000 kilometers radius from New Delhi.
•    India has Air Service Agreements (ASA) with 109 countries covering aspects relating to the number of flights, seats, landing points and code-share.  
•    • Upgradation of Airports: Airport Authority of India (AAI) will continue to modernize the existing airports and upgrade quality of services.    It will also maintain an ASQ  rating  of  4.5  or  more  across all airports  which  have  a throughput above 1.5  mppa and ASQ rating  of 4.0 or more for the rest.
•    Ground Handling Agencies (GHA): The airport operator will ensure that there will be three Ground Handling Agencies (GHA) including Air India's subsidiary/JV at all major airports as defined in AERA Act 2008 to ensure fair competition. 
•    Advanced Cargo Information system: It will be implemented in a phased manner after a universally accepted international template has emerged.
•    MoCA will be nodal agency for developing commercial aero-related manufacturing and its eco-system in India in line with Aeronautical Make in India.
•    Growth of helicopters: Government will support growth of helicopters for remote area connectivity and separate regulations for helicopters will be notified by DGCA.

World Blood Donors Day (WBDD) 2016 was observed on 14 June 2016.
The theme of the 2016 World Blood Donor Day campaign is Blood connects us all. The theme highlights the common bond that all people share in their blood.
•    The slogan for 2016 WBDD is Share life, give blood. The slogan focuses on voluntary donation systems. 
•    The voluntary donation systems play a pivotal role in encouraging people to care for one another and promoting community cohesion.
•    The World Blood Donors Day was established in 2004.
•    The day was established to raise awareness of the need for safe bold and blood products. The day also expresses gratitude towards donors for their voluntary gifts of blood.
•    It is one of the eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO).
•    The day also collides with birthday anniversary of Karl Landsteiner, who is noted for having distinguished the main blood groups in 1900.
•    The theme for the 2015 WBDD was Thank you for saving my life.
•    Apart from this there are following notable commemorative  days coming up in this month 
    June 15- World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
    June 17 World Day to Combat Desertification
    June 19 father's day
    June 20 World Refugee Day
    June 21 International Day of Yoga
    June 23 United Nations Public Service Day
    June 26 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
    June 29 National Statistics Day

India and Ghana on 13 June 2016 signed three bilateral agreements to strengthen co-operation in varied fields. The agreements were signed during the first ever visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to Ghana, a nation on West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea.
•    The three agreements signed with Ghana included one for visa waivers for holders of diplomatic and official passports and one for setting up a Joint Commission.
• The commission will periodically review various aspects of the multi-dimensional relationship between the two countries. A mutually convenient date for its first meeting will be decided later.
•    The third agreement was for collaboration in diplomatic training between the Indian Foreign Service Institute and a Ghanaian institute of the same standing.
•    India is the largest foreign investor in Ghana today, with more than 700 projects. More than 222 of these projects are in the manufacturing sector. 
•    Bilateral trade between India and Ghana has increased to 1.2 billion US dollars from 538 million US dollars in 2010. 
•    Ghana has also sought India’s civil nuclear cooperation to explore the possibilities of reducing its dependence on traditional energy sources to cut costs and focus on cleaner environment.
•    After hosting the third India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in New Delhi in October 2015, India is working on a plan to consolidate and further strengthen its engagement with Africa.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 13 June 2016 issued the guidelines on the Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets.
The guidelines were issued with an aim to further strengthen the lenders’ ability to deal with stressed assets and to put real assets back on track.
•    RBI formulated the Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A) as an optional framework for the resolution of large stressed accounts. 
•    The S4A envisages determination of the sustainable debt level for a stressed borrower.
•    It also envisages bifurcation of the outstanding debt into sustainable debt and equity/quasi-equity instruments which are expected to provide upside to the lenders when the borrower turns around.
•    In order to make sure that that the entire exercise is carried out in a transparent and prudent manner, S4A envisages that the resolution plan will be prepared by credible professional agencies.
•    An Overseeing Committee, set up by the Indian Banks Association, comprising of eminent experts will independently review the processes involved in preparation of the resolution plan for reasonableness and adherence to the provisions of these guidelines.
•    The scheme is applicable to those projects that have started commercial operations and have outstanding loan of over 500 crore rupees.
Resolution of large borrowal accounts which are facing severe financial difficulties may require coordinated deep financial restructuring which often involves a substantial write-down of debt and/or making large provisions. 

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a mysterious solitary dwarf galaxy known as UGC 4879. 
•    The galaxy is smaller and messier than its cosmic cousins and lacks the majestic swirl of a spiral or the coherence of an elliptical. 
•    The galaxy UGC 4879 is very isolated and consists of a scattered drizzle of stars. It about 2.3 million light years away from its closest neighbour, Leo A which is about the same distance as that between our Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. 
•    The galaxy has not interacted with any of surrounding galaxies that makes it an ideal laboratory for astronomers to study star formation by interactions with other galaxies. 
•    The scientific studies of this solitary galaxy UGC 4879 will provide ample scientific study material for astronomers looking to understand the complex mysteries of star birth throughout the universe. 
•    It will especially help astronomers to study amount of star formation in the first 4 billion years after the Big Bang and followed by a strange 9 billion-year lull in star formation.
•    HST was launched in 1990 as an international cooperation space project between NASA and European Space Agency. 
•    It is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. 
•    Its science operations are conducted by Baltimore based Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). 
•    It is located in low Earth orbit outside the distortion of Earth’s atmosphere that allows it to take extremely high-resolution images.

Justice Rakesh Ranjan Prasad, the senior-most Judge of the Manipur High Court on 13 June 2016 assumed charge of the Chief Justice of the High Court.
He succeeded Justice Laxmi Kanta Mohapatra who relinquished the office on 9 June 2016.
•    Earlier on 9 February 2016, Justice Prasad was transferred from Jharkhand High Court to Manipur High Court. He was transferred by President of India in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of article 222 of the Constitution of India.
•    Clause (1) of Article 222 of the Constitution empowers the President to transfer a judge from one high court to other high court, which can be done after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
•    Born on 1 July 1955, Prasad did his schooling and graduation from Bihar.
•    He is a Science graduate and obtained his LL.B. Degree from Patna Law College, Patna.
•    He was enrolled as an Advocate in Bihar State Bar Council, Patna on 17 September 1980 and practiced in the area of Civil, Criminal and Writ matter at Patna High Court, Patna.
•    He joined into Superior Judicial Service as Additional District Judge on 6 May 1991 and was promoted to the post of District Judge on 8 June 2001.•    He was joined as Registrar General, High Court of Jharkhand on 8 June 2001.

Tata Power Co. Ltd on 12 June 2016 agreed to acquire renewable energy company Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt. Ltd.
Tata Power took the step in a bid to grow its clean energy portfolio to 2.3 giga watts (GW).
•    Tata Power’s renewable energy unit Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL) has signed an agreement to acquire Welspun Renewables Energy Private Ltd (WREPL).
•    It is the largest transaction in renewable space in India.
•    The acquisition is being made at an enterprise value of 9249 crore rupees.
•    TPREL will acquire 1140 MW solar and wind power assets of Welspun Energy Private Ltd.
•    The deal is expected to close in September 2016.

Mercedes racing driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain on 12 June 2016 won the Formula 1 Canada Grand Prix title.
•    To win the title, he overcame Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel in the final race held in Montreal, Canada.
•    For Hamilton, the present win in Montreal was the fifth in his career and the second in a row. His previous titles were secured in 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2015.
•    In the 2016 season, it was the second title for him as he already secured the Monaco Grand Prix on 29 May 2016.
•    Overall, he has more race victories than any other British driver in the history of Formula One and is currently third on the all-time wins list, with 45 wins.
•    He is a British Formula One racing driver from England.
•    He currently races for the Mercedes AMG Petronas team.
•    He is the 2008, 2014 and 2015 Formula One World Champion.
•    In his first season in Formula One, he set numerous records while finishing second in the 2007 Formula One Championship.
•    He won the World Championship the following season, becoming the then-youngest Formula One world champion in history before Sebastian Vettel broke the record two years later.
•    Following his second world title in 2014, he was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
•    In 2015, he became the first British driver in history to win consecutive F1 titles.
•    He is the only driver in the history of the sport to have won at least one race in each season he has competed to date.