Daily GK Updates - 11th June, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India is 2nd highest sender of foreign student : With 1,86,000 Indian students currently studying in the United States, India is the second highest sender of foreign students to the US, next only to China.US consul general in Kolkata, Craig Hall, stated that the United States is the top destination for foreign students worldwide.The number of Indian students in the US has more than doubled in the last 10 years.

2. Saxena appointed acting UPSC chief : UPSC member Arvind Saxena has been appointed as the acting Chairman of the commission from June 20.Saxena, a 1978-batch Indian Postal Service officer, will take over the charge from incumbent Vinay Mittal who completes his term at the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on June 19.Saxena joined the UPSC in May, 2015 after he completed his stint in the Aviation Research Centre (ARC).

3. Sharad Kumar appointed vigilance commissioner : Former NIA chief Sharad Kumar was on June 10 appointed vigilance commissioner in the probity watchdog Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).Mr. Kumar has been appointed vigilance commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission for a term of four years or till he attains the age of 65.The Commission comprises of a Central Vigilance Commissioner and two vigilance commissioners.

4. Maharashtra most vulnerable state : Maharashtra has been ranked the most vulnerable state in the draft National Disaster Risk Index, followed by West Bengal & Uttar Pradesh.States like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh that are prone to natural calamities have been ranked relatively lower.Few factors taken into consideration were exposure of population, agriculture and livestock, environmental risk & economic vulnerabilities.

5. India to get its 1st police museum in Delhi : India will get its first national police museum in Lutyens Delhi, a senior official said.The museum, which will depict the history of central and state police forces, will come up as an underground facility in the premises of the National Police Memorial.It will be inaugurated on Police Commemoration Day, which is held on October 21.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India mulls new group in WTO : India is considering bringing together a group of 8-10 member countries of the WTO.It would be an informal group within the World Trade Organisation (WTO).The group may include nations like Brazil, China, South Africa, China, Indonesia and Columb.

2. Mauritius to host global Hindi meet : The upcoming 11th World Hindi Conference in Mauritius is likely to produce directives to increase the popularity of Hindi globally.

The World Hindi Conference is a major event organised every three years by the External Affairs Ministry.The World Hindi Secretariat (WHS) supported by India is located in Mauritius.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. SBI NPAs Surpass Rs 1 Lakh Crore In FY18 : State Bank of India, recorded its highest non-performing asset (NPAs) of Rs. 1.1 lakh crore in 2017-18, almost equal to what it had registered in the decade before.This is available through RTI and the bank’s annual report.The gross NPAs of the bank went up from Rs. 1.12 lakh crore in 2016-17 to Rs. 2.23 lakh crore in the last fiscal.

SPORTS:

1. Simran-Ritika win Mauritius Open : India’s young women’s doubles pair of Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker won the Mauritius International title.This was just the second international tournament that Singhi and Thaker had participated in this year.Singhi and Thaker had won the All India Junior Ranking Tournament in Tirupur, which secured them a spot in India’s squad for the Badminton Asia Junior Championships.

2. India win 2018 Intercontinental Cup : The Indian national team lifted the 2018 Intercontinental football Cup by defeating Kenya 2-0.Both the goals were scored by India skipper Sunil Chhetri.Organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the quadrangular tournament also featured New Zealand and Chinese Taipei.

3. Rise in India-ASEAN naval games : India is instituting a series of bilateral and multilateral naval exercises with Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.The Navies of India and Indonesia will hold their first bilateral exercise in the Java Sea.The bilateral with Indonesia is in addition to the Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) that the two sides conduct.