Important Current Affairs 30th June 2017

Important Current Affairs 30th June 2017

Current Affairs 30th June 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Narendra Modi inaugurates 2 water projects for farmers in Gujarat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated two water projects in Gujarat Modasa district, asserting that farmers across the state will soon get water through various irrigation schemes.
●    Speaking at the dedication ceremony, Prime Minister Modi said, “We have ensured that farmers across Gujarat get water through our various irrigation schemes. 
●    National Agricultural Market (e-NAM) is helping farmers sell their produce online at the right price across the entire country. 
●    We have introduced PM Fasal Bima Yojana to ensure maximum protection with minimum premium. 
●    We are also ensuring that bus stations in Gujarat are comparable to airports in convenience and cleanliness.”
●    Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was also present for the occasion. 
●    Later on Friday, Prime Minister Modi will have lunch at Gandhinagar Raj Bhawan, which will be followed by the inauguration of the Mahatma Mandir exhibition and conference.
●    He will also address a youth symposium.
●    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also address a textile summit, take part in a roadshow and unveil other state-centric projects.

Indians Top The List Of People Seeking Foreign Citizenship

A recent list of people opting for foreign nationality has kept Indians at the top according to the numbers in which they have applied for citizenship of other countries.
●    In 2015, 1.30 lakh people of Indian origin, comprising largely of expatriates on work visas, acquired citizenship of OECD member countries.
●    This was followed by Mexico (1.12 lakh) and the Philippines (94,000). China came fifth with 78,000 opting to relinquish their citizenship.
●    These were the findings of the report International Migration Outlook (2017) released by Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (Oecd) in Paris on Thursday.
●    The report mentioned that in 2015, just over 20 lakh people acquired the nationality of an OECD country. 
●    This was slightly above (3%) the 2014 figure, even as it remains within the OECD average of the past 10 years.

India to buy C-17 transport aircraft from US

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) today cleared a proposal to buy from the United States ten C-17 heavy-lift military aircraft worth USD 4.1 billion, the biggest-ever defence deal to be entered between the two countries.
●    Under the deal, the US defence major Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft, will have to invest 30 per cent of the contract amount for setting up defence facilities in India, they said.
●    As per the procurement procedure, offsets clause entails that a vendor winning a defence deal worth over Rs 300 crore has to reinvest at least 30 per cent of the deal amount in Indian defence, homeland security or civilian aerospace sectors.
●    The deal, which amounts to over Rs 18,000 crore, would be the biggest-ever defence contract to be entered with the US.
●    Prior to this, the biggest deal with the US was worth USD 2.1 billion for procurement of eight P-8I maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft from Boeing through direct commercial sales in 2009.

Current Affairs 30th June 2017: ECONOMY

GST launched

India’s single biggest tax reform, Goods and Services Tax (GST), will be launched nationwide in the intertwining night of 30th June and 1st July 2017. 
●    The new tax regime will be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a function in Central Hall of the Parliament.
●    The tax regime will replace more than a dozen state and central levies like excise, service tax and VAT, which were built up over seven decades. 
●    With this, GST will be unifying the country’s 2 trillion dollar economy and 1.3 billion people into a common market.
●    The special programme for the launch of the new tax regime will be attended by President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and a host of Senior Ministers and bureaucrats.
 

Current Affairs 30th June 2017: AWARDS

Indian-origin boy Arnav Sharma gets 162 IQ points, more than Einstein and Hawking

Arnav Sharma, an 11-year-old Indian-origin boy in the United Kingdom, secured the top possible score of 162 on a Mensa IQ test.
●    Sharma secured two points higher than physicist Albert Einstein and astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, making him one of the brainiest children in the country.
●    The Indian-origin boy passed the infamously difficult test a few weeks back with zero preparation. In fact, he had never seen what a typical paper looked like before taking it.
●    Sharma’s score in the exam, which primarily measures verbal reasoning ability, puts him in the top one per cent of the nation in terms of IQ level.
●    Sharma currently attends Crosfields School on the outskirts of Reading town in southern England, has been selected for Eton College and Westminster, both highly competitive and sought-after schools, with no preparation.

Current Affairs 30th June 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

Sharjah named World Book Capital 2019 by UNESCO

Sharjah, a city in the United Arab Emirates has been named as 'the World Book Capital' for 2019 by the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova for the quality of its literary and cultural activities and for its efforts to make books accessible to the entire population of the nation.
●    Bokova took the decision on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee that met at the Headquarters of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) at La Haye.
●    Speaking on the occasion, Irina Bokova said, “I applaud the nomination of Sharjah as the World Book Capital as well as the efforts undertaken by the city in order to make reading available to as many people as possible, in particular, the marginalised populations, as a motor for social inclusion, creativity and dialogue.”
●    The city was chosen because of its innovative, comprehensive and inclusive nature of the application, with a community-focused activity programme containing creative proposals to engage the very large migrant population.

Trump banned Visa application from 6 Muslim nations 

The Trump administration has set new criteria for visa applicants from six Muslim nations and all refugees that require a close family or business tie to the United States.
●    According to the new guidelines sent to all the US embassies and consulates on 28 June 2017, visa applicants from six countries- Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen-must prove a relationship with a parent, spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling in the United States in order to get a go ahead.
●    The new guidelines have been set by the State Department, according to which extended family members including grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law and fiancées are not considered to be close relationships.
●    These new measures are expected to be implemented from 29 June 2017.