Daily GK Updates - 6th June, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi Forms 2 Cabinet Panels For Growth & Jobs: In a bid to spur investment and create new employment opportunities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set up two Cabinet committees to deal with the two crucial issues. Both the panels, respectively on Investment and Growth and on Employment and Skill Development, will be headed by the prime minister. The Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth will have Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sithataman, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Railways and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as its members. The Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development will include, besides Shah, Sithataman and Goyal, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Skill Development M N Pandey, Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar and Housing and Urban Development Minister Hardip Puri.

2. Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das inaugurates Rs 55 crore Haj House: Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has inaugurated the 50 crore rupees Haj House in Ranchi. The five-storeyed air-conditioned Haj House can accommodate about 1,000 people for offering Namaaz.

A total of 150 men and 80 women can stay at a time. The Chief Minister had laid the foundation stone for the building two years ago.

3. Government Reconstitutes 8 Cabinet Committees: The Government has reconstituted eight Cabinet Committees. These are Appointments Committee, Committees on Accommodation, Economic Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs, Political Affairs, Security, Investment and Growth and Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development. The Cabinet Committee on Security will have Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar. Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has Prime Minister Modi and Mr Shah. While Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth will have the Prime Minister and Ministers of Home, Road Transport and Highways, Finance and Corporate Affairs and Railways and Commerce and Industry.

4. 'Cyclone Man' Mrutyunjay Mohapatra Appointed IMD Chief: Renowned scientist and cyclone warning specialist Mrutyunjay Mohapatra was appointed as the chief of India Meteorological Department (IMD).  Mohapatra and his team at the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD have earned praise for their accurate forecasts on cyclones, its wind-speed and likely impact on life and property including during the recent cyclone 'Fani', when their timely warnings enabled the authorities to ensure early evacuation of millions of people. He will assume charge in August.

5. Maharana Pratap Jayanti observed: Maharana Pratap Jayanti (479th birth) is being observed every year on 6 June to celebrate the birth anniversary of a brave Rajput warrior. Maharana Pratap was the 13th Rajput king of Mewar, a province in modern-day Rajasthan. He became ruler of Mewar in 1572, after the death of Udai Singh. He was the eldest son of Maharana Udai Singh and Maharani Jaiwanta Bai. On 18 June 1576, the famous Battle of Haldighati was fought between Maharana Pratap and Akbar’s forces led by Man Singh I of Amer.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Russia Launches 1st Arctic Train Service: In Russia, the first tourist train traveling through Russia's Arctic region and on to Norway set off from St. Petersburg station with 91 passengers aboard for the inaugural trial journey.  The train, named, Zarengold, complete with two restaurant cars will travel from Saint Petersburg through, the whole trip will take 11 days and allow passengers to discover areas difficult to access by other means.

2. Thaawarchand Gehlot leaves for Buenos Aires to participate in 2nd Global Disability Summit: Mr Thaawarchand Gehlot (Social Justice and Empowerment minister) has left for Buenos Aires in Argentina to participate in 2nd Global Disability Summit. Union Minister Mr Gehlot also attended ‘1st Global Disability Summit’ held at London, UK. The objective of the three-day summit is to deliberate on issues across the world concerning empowerment and inclusion of Persons with Disabilities and to work out a mechanism for enabling them to live an independent and dignified life.

Note: The 2nd Global Disability Summit is being held at Buenos Aires, Argentina from (6 June to 8 June 2019).

3. Donald Trump joins Queen Elizabeth II at World War II commemorative ceremony: President Donald Trump joined Queen Elizabeth II at a World War II commemorative ceremony in UK's port city of Portsmouth. Hundreds of war veterans were feted at the grand ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, which marked the start of the Allied Forces campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied north-west Europe during World War II. British Prime Minister Theresa May is hosting 15 world leaders to honour the largest combined land, air and naval operation in history, with representatives from every country that fought alongside the UK in attendance. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as Prime Ministers from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland and Slovakia also attended the function.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Sunil Chhetri becomes most capped India player: Sunil Chhetri has become the most capped India player by surpassing Bhaichung Bhutia's 107 international matches. In his milestone match of the King's Cup football tournament in Buriram, Thailand, he scored the lone goal for his side in the 31st minute from a spot kick for his 69th goal.

Note: Sunil Chhetri is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker or winger and captains both the Indian Super League side Bengaluru FC and the Indian national team.

2. International Federation of Hockey men's series finals begins: International Federation of Hockey (IFH) men's series finals has begun in Bhubaneswar, Odisha (6–16th June 2019). In the first match held in the morning, USA defeated South Africa by 2 goals. Poland, Russia, Uzbekistan South Africa, Japan, USA, Mexico including host country India will battle it out for two places in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers scheduled to be held in October-November later this year. The top two teams from each event qualify for the 2019 Men's FIH Olympic Qualifiers. The morning matches will be open for public whereas afternoon matches will have tickets and the profits will be donated to Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

Note: The Men's FIH Series Finals 2019 is the final stage of the 2018–19 edition of the Hockey Series, held from April to June 2019. The Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) is the international governing body of field hockey and indoor field hockey, headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

3. Team India to sport orange jerseys in selected World Cup matches: Indian cricketers are likely to sport orange jerseys instead of the usual blue in selected games of the ongoing World Cup. This includes the match against hosts England on the 30th of this month.  The jersey will be predominantly orange with a tinge of blue. The concept of multiple jerseys has been inspired by club football in which players choose their colour on a home and away basis.

4. China will host the 2023 Asian Cup: According to Asian Football Confederation (AFC), China will stage the 2023 Asian Cup football after South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia dropped their bids. It will mark the second time for China to host the quadrennial continental tournament. In the 2004 edition, China had finished runners-up to Japan. This year's Asian Cup in the UAE was expanded to 24 nations for the first time with Qatar winning the final 3-1 against Japan.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. 2nd Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement Released: Repo Rate Reduced to 5.75%: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced its second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Rates for 2019-20 in Mumbai. The Bi-monthly policy has been released based on the assessment of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) led by RBI Governor also decided to change the stance of monetary policy from neutral to accommodative. The RBI reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 5.75 per cent from 6.0 per cent with immediate effect. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 5.50 per cent. The marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.0 per cent.

Current Policy Rates:

Policy Repo Rate	5.75%
Reverse Repo Rate	5.50 %
Marginal Standing Facility Rate	6.0%
Bank Rate	6.0%
CRR	4 %

DEFENCE

1. India Test Fires Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile From Chandipur in Odisha: India has successfully test fired Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile from Chandipur in Odisha. Described as the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile with high rate of precisionand accuracy, BrahMos can be fired from land, sea and air. 

OBITUARIES

1. Champions League football Architect Lennart Johansson Passes Away: Lennart Johansson, who oversaw the introduction of the Champions League during a 17-year reign as president of European soccer’s governing body, has died. He was 89. Johansson led UEFA from 1990-2007 and was eventually beaten in a presidential election by former France great Michel Platini.

2. Uttarakhand finance minister Prakash Pant passes away: The Finance Minister of Uttarakhand, Prakash Pant (59-years) passed away in the US. Prakash Pant was undergoing treatment for lung ailment in Texas, United States of America. The Uttarakhand government has declared three-day mourning, as a mark of respect to the departed leader. He was the first speaker of Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.

Note: Prakash Pant was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and member of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly in India. He was also a minister in Government of Uttarakhand with portfolios of Tourism, Culture, Pilgrimage Endowment, Parliamentary Affairs & Reorganization.