Notes:
The Union Government has constituted a group of eminent persons to study the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Policy of India. The group will be headed by Industrialist Baba Kalyani. The group will evaluate the SEZ policy, suggest measures to cater to the needs of exporters in the present economic scenario and make the SEZ policy WTO compatible. The Group has to submit its recommendation in 3 months. The SEZ Policy was implemented from 1st April, 2000. Subsequently, the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 was passed by Parliament in May, 2005 which received Presidential assent on the 23rd June, 2005 and the Special Economic Zone Act was enacted. The SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ Rules, came into effect on 10th February, 2006.

Notes:
In a bid to check loan defaults, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has considered the recommendations of YM Deosthalee-headed High Level Task Force and will set up a Public Credit Registry (PCR) in a modular and phased manner. The PCR is an information repository that collates all loan information of individuals and corporate borrowers. A credit repository will help banks distinguish between a bad and a good borrower and accordingly offer attractive interest rates to good borrowers and higher interest rates to bad borrowers. The PCR will be the single point of mandatory reporting for all material events for each loan, notwithstanding any threshold in the loan amount or type of borrower. Thereby, the PCR will serve as a registry of all credit contracts, duly verified by reporting institutions, for all lending in India and any lending by an Indian institution to a company incorporated in India.

Notes:
The Fuego volcano is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala that has recently erupted violently and buried several villages on its southern flank. The death toll has risen to 99 in the Fuego volcano eruption. The National Forensic Sciences Agency stated that, of the 99 people, only 28 have been identified, so far. Some 200 people are still missing, amid fears of a new blowup of the 3,763-metre volcano. The volcano is only 27 miles southwest of the capital Guatemala City, and ash has reached as far as the city’s airport, forcing it to close. At its peak, the Fuego reaches 12,346 feet above sea level and it is one of the most active volcanoes in Latin America. It sits on the Ring of Fire, a 25,000-mile horseshoe-shaped area where several tectonic plates rub against each other, creating intense volcanic activity and earthquakes. Three quarters of the world’s active volcanoes can be found on the Ring of Fire.

Notes:
On June 6, the 6-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the key policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% in its second bi-monthly monetary policy review of FY19. Concurrently, the reverse repo rate adjusted to 6.0%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.50%. This is the first time since January 2014 that RBI has announced a rate hike. Since then, RBI has either reduced the rate or maintained status quo. Repo rate is the rate at which RBI lends to banks generally against government securities while the reverse repo is the rate at which RBI borrows money from the banks. In its monetary policy statement, RBI revised CPI inflation projections for the first half (H1)of FY19 to 4.8-4.9%, and 4.7% in the second half (H2). RBI retained its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection for the financial year at 7.4%.

Notes:
The National Consultation on Accelerating Implementation of Tobacco Control Measures for achievement of Goals under National Health Policy (2017) has inaugurated by Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey in New Delhi on June 6, 2018. The Ministers of State also released the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2 India Report, 2016-17 and guidelines for establishing tobacco cessation centres in dental colleges at the consultation and felicitated tobacco workers who have transitioned to other livelihood options. The two-day consultation will focus on capacity-building of the National Tobacco Control Progamme Nodal Officers. Among the key areas of deliberation will be multi-sectoral engagement for implementation of WHO FCTC in India and synergizing tobacco control with new health initiatives. Tobacco is responsible for 4.5 lakh Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVD) deaths in the country. In 2011, the total economic cost attributable to tobacco use from all diseases in India for persons aged 35-69 years amounted to a staggering Rs. 1,04,500 crores.

Notes:
On June 6, the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) in Telangana has received the approval of Technical Advisory Committee of the Union government in a meeting held in the Central Water Commission (CWC) in Delhi. The Kaleshwaram project, which is the biggest lift irrigation project in the country, has provision for the storage of about 148 tmc ft with plans of utilising 180 tmc ft by lifting at least 2 tmc ft water every day for 90 flood days. The project is designed to irrigate 7,38,851 hectares (over 18.47 lakh acres) uplands in the erstwhile districts of Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Warangal, Medak, Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy. The expected cost of project is Rs 80,000 crore. One of the unique features of the project is the longest tunnel in Asia of 81 kms between Yellampally and Mallannasagar dams. To lift the water the project will utilise 139MW pump, the highest capacity pump to be deployed in any project in the country. The Kaleswaram project across the Godavari river is often described as a boon to the state.

Notes:
Veteran film actor Anupam Kher will be given the prestigious Lifetime Achievement honour at the 19th edition of International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony in Bangkok on June 24, 2018. He will be honoured for his contribution in the field of cinema. Kher has worked in over 500 films spanning across languages along with projects both in India and abroad for over three decades.

Notes:
Narayan Prasad Singh, the most popular lyricist of Odisha, has passed away in Bhubaneswar on June 6, 2018. He was popularly known as Rasaraj. Born on May 28, 1933 at Koeli village, Singh earned his name in the world of Odia music. He was the lyricist of several popular melodious songs in Odia cinema. He made his debut by writing songs for Akashvani and came to be known as Rasaraj in Odia film industry for penning more than a hundred of songs that touched the heart of both the urban and rural population. Some of his songs are all time hits and his philosophical and contemporary songs had a great impact on youths. Some of his soulful and melodious songs in Odia cinema are ‘Jeevan Jamuna re Juara uthere’, ‘Ratani gaja gamani’, ‘Ae ta kali kaal reeti biparita bhai re’.

Notes:
India hosted the 11th edition of Geo-Intelligence Asia 2018 at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on 04-05 June 2018. It was organised by GeoSpatial Media and Communication with Directorate General of Information System as Knowledge Partners and Military Survey as Co-organisers. The theme of Seminar was ‘GeoSpatial : A Force Multiplier for Defense and Internal Security’. The aim of the event is to provide a platform to showcase the innovative applications of the Geospatial technologies. The seminar brought together the military, security officials including BSF and Police Forces, Government and industry together to examine the latest technology solutions and on the critical role of geospatial technology in military and security applications.

Notes:
The Mitti Dam is a concrete and earthen dam built on the Mitti River in Abdasa Taluka of Kutch District, Gujarat. The Mitti River is an intermittent stream and provides a catchment area of 468.78 sq kms for the reservoir. The dam is 4405 m long and has 17.40 million cubic metres (MCM) of gross storage, 2.68 MCM of dead storage, and 14.72 MCM of live storage capacity.