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IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JUNE 14^th, 2018

                                    IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JUNE 14^th, 2018

1.   (14th June) is World Blood Donor Day

a.   This day  is celebrated every year on the day of birth anniversary of Austrian-American biologist and physician Karl Landsteiner (14th of June in 1868) who discovered the existence of different types of blood groups in 1901.  

b.   He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930 for his discovery.

c.   This day is observed to raise the public awareness about the need for safe blood donation.

d.   Theme of  World Blood Donor Day 2018 :  “Blood Connects us All”.

e.   Important Note : World Blood Donor Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with 

                                i.    World Health Day, 

                              ii.    World Tuberculosis Day, 

                            iii.    World Immunization Week, 

                            iv.    World Malaria Day, 

                              v.    World No Tobacco Day, 

                            vi.    World Hepatitis Day and 

                           vii.    World AIDS Day.

2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated multiple projects at Chhattisgarh.

a.   He first inaugurated the Integrated Command and Control Centre in Naya Raipur Smart City.

b.   Next, he inaugurated a modernised and expanded part of the Bhilai Steel Plant.

c.   During the same event, he will lay the foundation stone for the permanent campus of Indian Institue of Technology (IIT) Bhilai. 

d.   He unveiled the commencement of phase-2 of BharatNet (Bharat Broadband Network Limited) which envisages connecting Gram Panchayats with an underground optical fibre network.

e.   Modi also inaugurated air services between Jagdalpur and Raipur.

3.   The Telangana government today directed all urban local bodies and civic municipal bodies to ban usage of single-use plastic in the offices. 

4.   The Indian Army has started an initiative titled 'Kashmir Super 30 Medical', which is a full-time coaching project for NEET aspirants in Jammu and Kashmir. 

a.   This comes after the success of 'Kashmir Super-40', a similar initiative for engineering in which 28 out of 40 students cracked the IIT-JEE Mains 2017.

5.   The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for introduction of Dam Safety Bill, 2018 in the Parliament. 

a.   This bill aims to help all States and Union Territories to adopt uniform dam safety procedures which will ensure safety of dams and safeguard benefits from such dams. 

b.   This will also help in safeguarding human life, livestock and property.

6.   NITI Aayog has come up with the Composite Water Management Index in view of limitations on availability of water resources and the rising demand for water.

a.   The index is a useful tool to assess and improve performance in management of water resources.

b.   The index can provide useful information which can be utilized to formulate and implement strategies for better management of water resources.

     7.   A 1985 batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer, Inder Jit Singh has been appointed as the Coal secretary.

8.   US' largest automaker General Motors (GM) named Indian Dhivya Suryadevara as its first female Chief Financial Officer (CFO). 

a.   She will replace Chuck Stevens, who is retiring after 40 years of service, on September 1. 

     9.   Union Cabinet approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India and Institut National de la Santeet de la RechercheMedicale (INSERM), France. 

a.   This MoU aims at cooperation in areas of common interest within medical, health research and life sciences fields. 

        10.               Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for grant of permission to HDFC Bank to raise additional share capital of up to a maximum of 24,000 crore rupees. 

11.  To facilitate money withdrawals for people of far flung areas, Fintech firm Mahagram will deploy over 1 lakh Aadhaar-enabled ATM machines across India.

a.   Important Note : Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) is a payment service developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) allowing banks, financial institutions to use Aadhaar number and online UIDAI authentication for transactions through their respective business correspondent (BC) service centres.

      12.               Noted social reformer & founder of Sulabh International Bindeshwar Pathak was honoured with Japan’s prestigious ‘Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture and Community’. 

a.   This award honours people in Asia who have made significant contributions in one of the three areas : regional growth; science, technology and innovation; and culture and community.

b.   Note : Pathak was among three who were conferred with this award. Other two awardees are :

o    Chinese environmentalist Ma Jun : He was awarded business innovation prize  for using power of internet to promote cleaner industry.

o    Vietnamese doctor Nguyen Thanh Liem : He won science and technology prize in recognition of his work advancing health care for children.

     13.               The 2018 FIFA World Cup begins today with the hosts Russia taking on Saudi Arabia.

a.   This is the 21st edition of FIFA World Cup and will be held during 14th June to 15th July 2018.

b.   A total of 32 teams from 5 confederations are participating in this world cup. 

14.  Spain have appointed former Real Madrid defender Fernando Hierro as their new manager.

a.   This comes after the Spanish federation fired Julen Lopetegui for not informing them about his appointment as Real Madrid coach. 

15.  The United States, Mexico and Canada won the right to jointly host the 2026 Fifa World Cup after beating Morocco in a vote by FIFA member nations in Moscow.

16.  Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has become the first 21st-century born to play Test cricket (17 years and 78 days), achieving the feat against India today.