Daily GK Updates - 9th June, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Justice Prashant Kumar appointed as Acting CJ of Jharkhand HC: Centre has appointed Justice Prashant Kumar as the Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court with effect from the date present Acting Chief Justice D N Patel relinquishes charge following his appointment as the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court. Former Chief Justice Aniruddha Bose was appointed as Supreme Court judge. Justice Patel appointed as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in the vacancy due to the retirement of former CJ Rajendra Menon. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Jharkhand High Court.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 1. PM Modi reaches Maldives on 1st foreign visit after re-election to give boost to 'Neighbourhood First' policy: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Maldives on 8 June and was accorded a ceremonial welcome. This is the first foreign trip of PM Modi ever since he took charge after winning the 2019 Lok Sabha election. He was received by Foreign Minister of Maldives Abdulla Shahid at the Velana International Airport. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and also addressed the national Parliament. The two-day visit is aimed at further cementing ties with the Indian Ocean archipelago. While Modi visited the Maldives in November 2018 to attend President Solih's swearing-in, this visit is the first by an Indian prime minister at a bilateral level in eight years.

Note: Maldives President: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Capital: Malé, Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa

2. Piyush Goyal leads Indian delegation to G20 Ministerial meeting in Japan: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is leading the Indian delegation for the two-day G20 Ministerial meeting on Trade and Digital Economy beginning at Tsukuba city in Japan. Mr. Goyal will discuss developments in the global trade situation, WTO matters, and digital trade. He will also hold dialogue with other participating Trade Ministers on current international trade and investments. The G-20 Trade Ministers deliberations will form part of the G-20 Summit Leaders agenda in the formal discussions and will also be a part of the Summit Declaration.

3. India, Portugal to join hands in setting up maritime museum: India and Portugal will cooperate in the setting up of a national maritime heritage museum at Lothal in Gujarat. The Indian Navy is keen to be a stakeholder in the project and the Portuguese Navy has agreed to assist with their experience of administering the maritime museum in Lisbon, according to defence sources. Initial discussions were held during the visit of Portuguese Defence Minister João Gomes Cravinho to India in April.

Note: Portugal Capital: Lisbon, Currency: Euro

4. G20 Finance Ministers call for creation of digital tax: Japan, US, China, France and the UK wanted digital giants such as Amazon, Google and Facebook to be taxed based on their revenue and number of users in every market where they operate. The Finance Ministers of the G20 member nations called for the creation of a digital tax for multinational technology companies, the details of which will be finalized next year. The initiative was debated during a G20 Ministerial Symposium in the Japanese city of Fukuoka, with the world’s leading industrialized countries coming out in favour of setting up a new tax model that is adapted to the digital economy.

Note: G20 Chairperson: Shinzō Abe, Founded: 26 September 1999

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. French Open: Ashleigh Barty clinches her first Grand Slam singles title: In French Open Tennis, Australian Ashleigh Barty won her first Grand Slam singles title after easing past Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets in the women’s final. In the women’s final, No. 8 seed Barty outclassed Vondrousova 6-1, 6-3 in one hour and 10 minutes.

2. Japan defeat Mexico by goal margin of 3-1 won FIH Hockey Series: In the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Men’s Hockey Series Finals match played at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Japan defeated Mexico by a goal margin of 3-1.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Forex reserves swell by $1.8 bn to $421.8 bn: The country’s foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 1.875 billion to USD 421.867 billion in the week ending 31st May 2019. Reserve Bank weekly data released showed that foreign currency assets, which is a major component of the overall reserves, rose by USD 1.946 billion to USD 394.134 billion.

2. RBI imposes Rs 2 crore penalty on Kotak Mahindra Bank: The RBI has slapped a penalty of Rs. 2 crores on Kotak Mahindra Bank for the non-state lender’s failure to adhere to the regulator’s diktat on promoter shareholding. The central bank has been engaged in a dispute with Kotak Mahindra since 2014 over its failure to meet the milestone for stake reduction by Uday Kotak, the billionaire promoter of the bank.

3. Jammu and Kashmir govt appoints RK Chibber as interim chief of J&K Bank: The Jammu and Kashmir government has removed J&K Bank Chairman Parvez Ahmad and appointed RK Chibber as interim chairman of the lender. Parvez Ahmad, Chairman cum Managing Director, shall cease to be Director on the Board of Directors of the Bank and consequently be no longer the Chairman cum Managing Director of the board.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Maldives to confer its highest award ‘Nishan Izzuddin’ on PM Modi: Maldives will confer ‘Nishan Izzuddin’ award on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is the highest award to honour foreign nationals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Male on the first leg of his two-nation tour to the Maldives and Sri Lanka. This will also be the first bilateral visit to the Maldives of an Indian Prime Minister after 2011.