11th June 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• India, the US and Japan toay started the MALABAR-16 naval exercise off the Western Pacific coast, close to the disputed South China sea. 
• Note : Japan was included in the exercise as a permanent member in 2015, making the erstwhile Indo-US exercise a trilateral one. 
• Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Nepalese counterpart Kamal Thapa held bilateral talks today, during which they decided to resolve the differences between the nations. 
• This was the first top political meeting after Nepal recalled its envoy and cancelled its President's visit to India. 
• Note : Relations between the countries have been strained since Nepal adopted a new Constitution last year.

People in News

• Former World Bank economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has won the Presidential elections in Peru with a vote share of 50.1%.
• He beat opponent Keiko Fujimori, whose father, a former President, was recently sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment for human rights abuses. 
• Note : The presidential elections were the tightest in over 50 years in Peru.

National Affairs

• The government of India today announced that it will bear the full cost of setting up an independent campus of the South Asian University, an initiative of the eight SAARC nations, at a government allotted plot in New Delhi. 
• The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is going introduce certificate and diploma courses on the Right to Information Act.
• The courses will form a compulsory part of the training module for all Central Government employees.
• Delhi government has announced to rename the Barapullah flyover in Delhi after Sikh icon Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. 
• Note : The move comes ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab in 2017.
• The Kerala High Court today ordered the prohibition of burning hazardous wastes like plastic and rubber. 
• The HC further directed the police to take strict action against those violating the ban. 

Business & Economy

• In an effort to maintain local supplies, the government is planning to introduce a 25% tax on sugar exports. 
• Food minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the levy is aimed at curbing the country's exports and would help keep local prices under control. 
• Further, sugar output in the country is set to decline due to a drought in major growing regions.

Recent Committees in News

• The government today announced that it has constituted a committee to make recommendations on pay scale revision of executives in PSUs. 
• The panel's suggestions will be submitted within six months of its constitution, and the government's decision on them will take effect from January 1, 2017. 
• The committee will be headed by : Justice Satish Chandra (Retd.) 
• Note : The last pay revision for the executives came into effect in 2007.

Awards & Honors

• The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been conferred the National Award for Best Performing Central PSU for Roof Top Solar Power initiatives. 
• It has installed 4.8 megawatt peak power (MWp) rooftop solar plants at 13 airports, generating approximately 51 lakh units of solar energy. 
• Further, 4.9 MWp solar plants are expected to be installed at 14 other airports by December.

New Appointments

• AamAadmi Party (AAP) legislator Rakhi Birla was elected the Deputy Speaker of the Delhi Assembly.
• The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has nominated BJP leader Shazia Ilmi and actress Poonam Dhillon as the Members of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT). 
• The statutory body hears the appeals filed against the decisions of the censor board. 
• Three other members of the five-person body are -- Justice (retd) SK Mahajan, journalist Shekhar Iyer and advocate Bina Gupta.

Deaths

• M.S. Krishna Bhat (78), former Chairman of Karnataka Bank (1995-2000), who is credited with consolidating the position of the Bank, passed away today.
• American singer Christina Grimmie (22), a former contestant on the show 'The Voice', passed away today after being shot dead at a concert in US.
• Note : Grimmie was in 'Maroon 5' frontman Adam Levine's team and ranked third on the show's sixth season.
• Veteran journalist Inder Malhotra (86) passed away.
• One of the most respected journalists of India, Mr. Malhotra had worked with The Statesman and then The Times of India, New Delhi.

Sports

• Seventeen-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer today became the tennis player with the second highest number of career wins in the Open Era. 
• Registering his 1,072nd win, the Swiss surpassed eight-time Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl. 
• Note : Jimmy Connors, the only male tennis player to have won more than 100 singles titles, leads the list with 1,256 career wins.
• The All India Tennis Association have announced the tennis team to represent India at the 2016 Rio Olympics, with Rohan Bopanna partnering Leander Paes in the Men's Doubles. 
• Note : Sania Mirza and Prarthana Thombare will take part in women's doubles, while Bopanna will partner Mirza in mixed doubles.
• Opening batsman KL Rahul became the first Indian to score a century on his ODI debut, after registering 100*(115) against Zimbabwe in the first ODI of the series today. 
• He is the 11th batsman in ODI history to have achieved the feat. 
• Note : The previous best by an Indian on ODI debut was Robin Uthappa's 86 against England in 2006.

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