GK and Current Affairs Updates

Multi-lateral lender World Bank approved $250 million loan for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project for reconstruction of flood-affected public infrastructure in Jammu & Kashmir. World Bank said that it will also strengthen the capacity of state government to respond and better manage natural disasters in future. The project is funded by credit from World Bank's concessionary - International Development Association (I.D.A). The loan has a maturity of 25 years, including a 5 year grace period. A continuous spell of rains in September 2014 had caused Jhelum, Chenab and Tawi rivers, their tributaries and many other streams to flow above the danger mark which had severely affected livelihoods in the state.

The Delhi Metro received its first train which is capable of running without a driver. Manufactured at Changwan in South Korea, the new-age train that arrived at the Mukundpur depot in New Delhi will eventually run unattended, guided by Delhi Metro's operations control centres. The train arrived by sea at the Mundhra port in Gujarat and was brought to Delhi by road. These trains will run on the upcoming Majlish Park-Shiv Vihar (Line 7 - 58.596 k.m.) and Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden (Line 8 - 38.235 k.m.) corridors of Phase 3. Both these corridors are expected to be operational by the end of 2016.

Ending an 11-year wait, Sundaram Ravi became the first Indian after S. Venkataraghavan to be inducted in the International Cricket Council’s (I.C.C) Elite Panel of Umpires following an annual review and selection process. New Zealand’s Chris Gaffaney and Ravi were promoted from the International Panel of Umpires to the Elite Panel, replacing Kiwi veteran Billy Bowden and the retiring Steve Davis. The Elite Panel of Umpires for 2015-2016 will be: Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker and Bruce Oxenford.

The whole world celebrated World Environment Day on 5^th June 2015 - a day designated by the UN to raise awareness about environmental issues. United Nations Environment Programme (U.N.E.P) celebrates the World Environment Day every year on 5^th June. The theme of World Environment Day 2015 is 'Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.' Prime Minister Narendra Modi planted a Kadam tree at 7RCR on the occasion of World Environment Day to create awareness for environment.

Uttarakhand’s Medical, Health and Family Welfare Ministery Surendra Singh Negi was conferred with the World No Tobacco Day Award 2015 by the World Health Organziation (W.H.O). Health minister has been awarded by W.H.O for initiating campaign against tobacco products and narcotics in the state. He was one of the six awardees from the who South-East Asia Region.

Three Indian companies, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (M.T.N.L) has found place in the Forbes list of world's 60 largest telecommunications companies. Besides this Vodafone which has a big business in India has been placed in the category of British company and is ranked fourth in the list. Bharti Airtel has been ranked 28th in the list. The third Indian company M.T.N.L is ranked 56th. China's state-owned telecommunications service provider company China Mobile is ranked first in the list, while second and third place has been acquired by America's Verizon Communications and AT&T respectively.

The Department of Post (DoP) of India Post has signed a deal with C.M.S Info Systems, a cash management and payments solutions company, to personalize over 15 million debit cards for its savings account holders. The deal, valued at Rs.30 crore, was estimated to be completed in three years. At present, the DoP covers a base of around 100 million account holders in India and is in the midst of a phased deployment of A.T.Ms across the country to serve its customers better. India Post has given C.M.S Info Systems a contract to supply RuPay card.

The All India Football Federation (A.I.F.F) entered into an agreement with the French Football Federation (F.F.F) to seek technical expertise for further development of the sport in the country. A.I.F.F President Praful Patel signed an agreement with the F.F.F to begin the partnership. The A.I.F.F had earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Japan Football Association and the German Football Association to improve the poor football standards in the country.

Inderjeet Singh won gold medal in men's shot put event in the 21^st Asian Athletics Championships. The 21^st Asian Athletics Championships is being held from 3^rd June to 7^th June 2015 at Wuhan, China. Inderjeet heaved the iron ball to a new championship record of 20.41 meter, which he achieved in his fourth attempt.

Jindal Power Limited (J.P.L), the sponsor company of 2400 MW power plant in Tamnar, Chattisgarh has been awarded with National Gold and Silver medal of Ministry of Power for completing the power plant in a record time. Minister of State for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal honoured the company by presenting it the award.