4th June 2015 - Important Current Affairs updates

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National Affairs

• Six more states - Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir - banned Maggi noodles, a day after the Delhi government and the Indian Army banned it.
• In Shimla, Union health minister J P Nadda said the centre has sought reports from all states on Maggi's quality and a decision would be taken after receiving the reports.
• Apart from Maggi, the Tamil Nadu government has also banned other brands like Wai Wai Express, Reliance Select Instant, Smith and Jones Chicken Masala as they were found to have excess lead in tests.
• Union Health Minister JP Nadda launched a Website and Mobile App of Mission Indradhanush aimed at reducing Infant Mortality Rate in the country.
• Highlighting achievements of the government on completion of one year at Shimla, he said that the coverage of full immunization will cover approximately 90 lakh children.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that he will be on a two-day visit to neighboring Bangladesh.
• His visit will on 6th June 2015.
• In Bangladesh he will attend several programmes, which include meeting with PM Sheikh Hasina, who has played an important role in strong India-Bangladesh ties.
• There will be delegation level talks and signing of agreements.
• He will sign a land boundary agreement with Bangladesh.
• He will join the programme to unveil the plaques for various Grant-in-Aid projects.
• He would flag off bus services on Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala and Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati routes, along with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
• Maharashtra government has invoked stringent provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against ration mafia.
• With MCOCA, the state government aims at weeding out the widespread corruption by taking stringent action against those who tamper the public distribution system (PDS) mechanism.
• Note : This is for the first time that the govt has applied MCOCA against ration mafia.
• Underworld elements, terrorists, slum-lords and bootleggers are booked under MCOCA apart from others

International Affairs 

• Today is International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.
• This day was Originally focused on victims of the 1982 Lebanon War, its purpose expanded to "acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. 
• This day affirms the UN's commitment to protect the rights of children.
• US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter is on a two-day visit to India.
• This is his first visit to India as US Defence Secretary.
• During this visit he will visit the Eastern Naval Command besides holding talks with top leadership in Delhi on joint development of defence technology.
• India and US Signed new 10-year defence framework.
• This was decided during the visit of American President Barack Obama in Delhi in January.
• The Main agreement Signed Are :
• Joint development and manufacture of defence equipment and technology including jet engines, aircraft carrier design and construction.
• Two project agreements for hi-tech mobile power source And next generation protective suits for chemical and biological warfare.
• Note : This Framework also recognises the transformative nature of the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
• Outlining China’s first public reaction to PM Modi’s proposal for 'Clarification of Line of Actual Control', Deputy Director General of the Asian Affairs at the Foreign Ministry Huang Xilian stated that, China prefers a pact with India on a Code of Conduct to maintain peace along the border rather than the clarification of Line of Actual control.
• India has lost a case at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the body today ruled that the Indian ban on import of poultry meat, eggs and live pigs from the U.S. was “inconsistent” with the international norms.
• India will have 12-18 months to implement this ruling, after which the U.S. can begin exports of these products to India. 

Science & Technology

• The Delhi Metro received its first train which is capable of running without a driver.
• Manufactured at Changwan in South Korea, the new-age train that arrived at the Mukundpur depot in New Delhi will eventually run unattended, guided by Delhi Metro's operations control centres.

Business & Economy

• The bilateral trade between India and the US is poised to grow five-fold from USD 100 billion to USD 500 billion.
• President of the US-India Business Council (USIBC) : Mukesh Aghi
• Multi-lateral lender World Bank has approved $250 million loan for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project for reconstruction of flood-affected public infrastructure in Jammu & Kashmir.
• The project will be funded by credit from World Bank's concessionary - International Development Association (IDA).
• The loan has a maturity of 25 years, including a 5 year grace period.  
• India and five other nations have joined a multilateral agreement for automatic exchange of financial information, a move that will help it combat tax evasion and deal with the problem of black money.
• Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Indonesia and New Zealand are the other five nations that signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) in Paris for automatic exchange of financial account information.
• The total number of countries which have agreed to share financial information has now gone up to 60, including Switzerland.
• Once fully implemented, the agreement "will help the government to curb tax evasion and deal with the problem of black money".

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