Current Affairs June 15, 2019
In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of June 15, 2019 in Short Notes form for preparation of IBPS, Banking, CLAT, SSC, Railway, UPSC, IAS/PCS, UPPSC, BPSC, MPPSC, RPSC, TNPSC, MPSC, KPSC and all other competitive examinations of India.
1. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a high-level committee under IBA Chief Executive V G Kannan to examine ATM charges and fees by banks amid demands for reviewing the levies. The use of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) has been growing significantly and there have been persistent demands to change ATM charges and fees. The 6-member panel will review the existing structures and patterns of costs, charges and interchange fees for ATM transactions. The committee will also review the overall patterns of usage of ATMs by cardholders and assess the impact, if any, on charges and interchange fees. Besides, it will assess the entire gamut of costs in respect of the ATM ecosystem and make recommendations on the optimal charge/interchange fee structure and pattern. The committee will submit its report within two months from the date of its first meeting.
2. Zonel Sougaijam, a 22-year-old civil engineer from Manipur, has been honoured by Facebook for discovering a WhatsApp bug that violated the privacy of a user. The social media giant awarded $5000 to him and also included him in the ‘Facebook Hall of Fame 2019’ for detecting the WhatsApp bug. Mr. Sougaijam detected that during a voice call through WhatsApp, the bug used to allow the caller to upgrade it to a video call without the authorization and knowledge of the receiver. The caller was then able to see what the other person was doing that breached the privacy of the receiver. Mr. Sougaijam’s name is currently at the 16th position in a list of 94 people, in the ‘Facebook Hall of Fame’ for this year.
3. Rajanath Singh 'Surya' (82), the veteran journalist and former Rajya Sabha Member, has passed away in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on June 13, 2019. He had worked in various newspapers and he was a well-known columnist.
4. Bestselling author and one of India’s leading contemporary writers, Amitav Ghosh has been conferred the 54th Jnanpith award for the year 2018 for his outstanding contribution towards literature. The writer was felicitated for his outstanding contribution by former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi at a function in New Delhi on 13th June 2019. Mr Ghosh is the first Indian author in English language to be honoured with the Jnanpith award. The works of Amitav Ghosh portray a vast range of subjects. His famous books include The Circle of Reason (1986), The Shadow Lines (1988), The Calcutta Chromosome (1996), The Hungry Tide (2004), Sea of Poppies (2008), The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016). Instituted in 1961, the Jnanpith award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English with no posthumous conferral. The recipients of Jnanpith award are given a cash prize of Rs 11 lakh, a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Goddess Saraswati.
5. Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan will be the chief guest at the 10th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), which is scheduled to be held between 8th to 17th August 2019. Every year, one of the leading film celebrities head to Australia to attend the fest held during the month of August. During their visit, the celebrities hoist the Indian National Flag in the presence of many Indians and other dignitaries as a part of the festival. The IIFM is a Victorian Government initiative that aims to strengthen ties between the Indian film industry and Victoria.
6. Bihar Cabinet-led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has approved a proposal to punish sons and daughters who abandon their elderly parents with a jail term. The proposal has provisions for punishments that could go up to imprisonment if children do not look after their parents properly in their old ages. The cases against the children will be registered under the non-bail able section in Bihar after receiving complaints from the elderly parents. The proposal of Bihar government can be a game changer if it formally makes it compulsory for children to look after parents. However, the practical problems regarding the implementation of such a rule are likely to be immense.
7. The Indian Navy hosted a maritime information sharing workshop under the aegis of the Information Fusion Centre — Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at Gurugram, Haryana on June 12. Over 41 delegates from 29 countries of the IOR participated in the two-day event. The aim of the workshop was to explain participants about IFC-IOR and its information sharing mechanisms and promote sharing of best practices in this field. The event included issues such as maritime terrorism, piracy, human and drug trafficking, humanitarian assistance as well as disaster relief and the legal perspective of combating these challenges.
8. Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, a global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights, will be honored with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award by UNICEF’s American chapter at their Snowflake Ball on December 3 in New York. Priyanka is known for her contribution to social causes and for being a voice for children’s education. She has been a part of United Nation’s global “Girl Up” Campaign and is associated with several NGOs in India to raise awareness about ways to improve the education, health and safety of girl child in India. She promotes various causes such as environment, health and education, and women's rights and is particularly vocal about gender equality and feminism. The award is named after actor-philanthropist Danny Kaye, who was UNICEF’s first Goodwill Ambassador.
9. The International Albinism Awareness Day (IAAD) is observed every year on June 13 to celebrate the human rights of persons with albinism worldwide. The 2019 theme is "Still Standing Strong". This is a call to recognize, celebrate and stand in solidarity with persons with albinism around the world, and to support their cause – from their accomplishments and positive practices to the promotion and protection of their human rights. Albinism is a congenital disorder characterized in humans by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. It is associated with a number of vision defects such as photophobia, nystagmus, and amblyopia. Albinism sufferers face social stigma, obstacles in access to areas of health and education and ignorance in social and political arenas.
10. On June 13, the meeting of Council of Heads of States (CHS) of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has started in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. This is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first multi-lateral summit after his re-election as the Prime Minister. This is also the second CHS meeting after India became member of SCO. Presidents and Prime Ministers of 8 member countries will participate in this multilateral international forum which will also be attended by 4 head of states as observers. The leaders participating in the Summit are expected to focus their discussions on the global security situation, multilateral economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and also on topical issues of international and regional importance. The SCO is a China-led 8-member economic and security bloc. The CHS is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO.
