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Current Affairs Update 16 June, 2017

Banking & Financial News

Aadhaar mandatory for opening bank account, financial transactions of Rs 50,000 and above

The government has made quoting of biometric identity number Aadhaar mandatory for opening of
bank accounts as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above.

Existing bank account holders have been asked to furnishthe Aadhaar number issued by the Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by December 31, 2017, failing which the account will cease to
be operational, according to arevenue department notification.

The government in Budget 2017 has already mandatedseeding of Aadhaar number with Permanent
Account Number to avoid individuals using multiple PANs to evade taxes.

The notification issued amending the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records)

Rules, 2005, mandated quoting of Aadhaar along with PAN or Form 60 by individuals,companies and
partnership firms for all financial transactions of Rs 50,000 or above.

Tightening the rules for small accounts, which can beopened without having officially valid KYC
documents, the amendment said such accounts - which can have maximum deposit of Rs 50,000, can
be opened only at bank branches which have core banking solution.

IOC, BPCL, HPCL sign agreement to set up USD 30 billion refinery

Three public sector oil marketing companies namely Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and
Hindustan Petroleum on 15 June 2017 signed the joint venture agreement to jointly set up the worlds
largest refinery along with petrochemical complex in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.

The joint venture agreement was signed by IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh, HPCL Chairman and Managing
Director Mukesh Kumar Surana and BPCL Chairman and Managing Director D Rajkumar.

Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will hold 50 per cent stake and the Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and
Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) will hold a stake of 25 per cent each in the refinery.

The refinery complex will have an accompanying mega petrochemical plant which will include an
aromatic complex, naphtha cracker and polymer complex.

The refinery is expected to be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 3 lakh crore (USD 30 billion).

The refinery will be set up in two phases. Phase-1 will have 40 million tonnes altogether with an
estimated cost Rs 1.2-1.5 lakh crore with an aromatic complex, naphtha cracker and polymer complex.

It will have a 60 million tonnes refining capacity and will have three crude units of 20 million tonnes
each.

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The refinery will produce petrol, diesel, LPG, ATF and feedstock for making petrochemical.

The refinery and complex is expected to be completed by 2022.

Shipping Ministry organised Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sammelan

The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) in collaboration with Ministry of Shipping, Government of India
(GOI) organised Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas sammelan on 15 June 2017 at Bhaidas Hall, Vile Parle in
Mumbai.

The sammelan was held to showcase the achievements and spread awareness on good governance
outcomes of GOI & SCI in the last three years. While MLA and Mumbai BJP President, Ashish Shelar
graced the occasion as the Chief Guest, Vinod Tawade, Minister of Higher & Technical Education and
Marathi Bhasha & Cultural Affairs, Maharashtra State and Malini Shankar (IAS), Director General of
Shipping consented to be the Special Guests.

Also present at the occasion was Capt. Anoop Kumar Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director of SCI
along with other dignitaries and senior officials of the organisation.

Adani Group set up 50-MW solar PV plant in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh

Infrastructure conglomerate Adani Group in the second week of June 2017 announced commissioning
of a 50 megawatts (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh.

The plant has been set up with an investment of Rs. 315 crore, under the National Solar Mission
Scheme.

In a first, the plant will use String Inverter Technology with crystalline silicon modules allowing
miniature level control of solar power generation.

As per the agreement signed with NTPC, power generated by the plant will be transmitted through
21.5 kilometre long 132 kilovolts transmission line connecting with UP Power Transmission
Corporation's (UPTCL) Mahoba Substation.

The project is expected to create direct and indirect employment for around 250 personnel.

News related to India and states

Indian Railways launches Mission Retro-Fitment to enhance the passenger experience

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu on 13 June 2017 launched Mission Retro-Fitment to
enhance the passengers experience by upgrading existing fleet of coaches with better furnishing,
aesthetics & amenities and better safety features to provide a safe and comfortable travel.

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Refurbished coaches will have world class ambience along with LED Lights, modular toilets with
concealed plumbing, branded fittings, powered venetian blinds, Anti-Graffiti coating, Fire and Smoke
Detection System, Bio toilets, Braille Signage, increased number of mobile / laptop charging points,
etc.

Highlights of Mission Retro-Fitment

Mission Retro-Fitment is an ambitious program to upgrade the level of furnishing and amenities in the
coaches of Indian Railways.

This is one of the largest retro fitment project in the world as Indian Railways will refurbish and retrofit
40000 coaches by 2022-23.

It will provide better travel experience as the interiors of the coaches will be refurbished and the
retrofitment of Centre Buffer Coupler with balanced draft gear will add more to safety of the
passengers.

This mission is challenging as it will be carried out without affecting the traffic operation.

The approximate cost for refurbishing and refitting a coach is Rs 30 lakhs.

57 coaches have already been refurbished by Coach Rehabilitation Workshop of Bhopal.

Some of the refurbished coaches are running in Varanasi on New Delhi Mahamana Express since
January 2016.

Appointments

Ajaib Singh Bhatti elected as Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker

Congress MLA Ajaib Singh Bhatti was unanimously elected as the Deputy Speaker of Punjab Legislative
Assembly on 16 June 2017.

His name was proposed by the leader of the House Captain Amarinder Singh and seconded by Health
Minister Brahm Mahindra, who escorted Bhatti to his new seat.

Bhattis appointment was made amid ruckus by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLAs, who continued to
raise slogans demanding debt waiver relief for farmers as the CM read out Bhattis political history.
AAP MLA's on the other hand, staged a walk out after they were not heard ahead of Question Hour.
They, however, re-entered the House later.

Neeru Chadha elected as first Indian woman Member of ITLOS

Indian nominee Neeru Chadha was on 15 June 2017 became the first Indian Woman to be elected as
the Member of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

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Chadha, international law expert, got 120 votes with the highest in the Asia Pacific group. She will
have a nine-year term as the Judge at ITLOS from 2017 to 2026.

Currently, eminent jurist from India P Chandrasekhara Rao is a judge at the tribunal. He was elected
as the member of the tribunal in 1996 and his term will expire in September 2017.

Awards & Honors

Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi chosen for Bhupen Hazarika Award 2017

Eminent litterateur Yeshe Dorje Thongchi was on 15 June 2017 chosen for the Bhupen Hazarika Award
2017.

The award will be conferred on Thongchi at a function to be held in Jammu and Kashmir in September
2017 by Pune-based social organization Sarhad.

He joined the Arunachal Pradesh Civil Service in 1977 and was elevated to the IAS in 1992.

He is the Founder and President of Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society.

The award was instituted by Sarhad, a Maharashtra-based organisation, in 2012.

A Horse Walks Into a Bar by David Grossman wins Man Booker International Prize 2017

A Horse Walks Into a Bar by David Grossman on 14 June 2017 was announced as the winner of the
2017 Man Booker International Prize.

The novel was translated by Jessica Cohen and is published in Britain by Jonathan Cape.

With this, Grossman becomes the first Israeli author to take home the prestigious prize.

The novel unfolds over the course of one final show by stand-up comedian, Dovaleh Gee, who exposes
a wound he has been living with for years: a fateful and gruesome choice he had to make between
the two people who were dearest to him.

World News

India re-elected to United Nations Economic and Social Council

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 15 June 2017 re-elected India to another three-year
term on the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

India was elected to the ECOSOC with the backing of the Asian and Pacific group of nations.

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India received 183 of the 188 votes to serve again on the 36-member UN body that guides sustainable
development policies and coordinates the activities of several UN units and organisations working
development and social and economic issues.

On the other hand, Japan received 185 votes, the highest number of votes for the three seats from
the Asia-Pacific region, and the Philippines garnered 182 votes.

India will retake its seat in January 2018 when its current term ends.

China launches 1st X-ray Space Telescope to study black holes

China on 15 June 2017 successfully launched its first X-ray Space Telescope named 'Insight' to study
black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts.

This Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT) was carried into orbit by Long March-4B rocket from
the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China's Gobi Desert.

The 2.5-tonne telescope will allow Chinese scientists to observe magnetic fields and the interiors of
pulsars and better understand the evolution of black holes.

It will also help scientists to search for gamma-ray bursts corresponding to gravitational waves and
study how to pulsars can be used for spacecraft navigation.

Insight is more capable of finding black holes and neutron stars that emit bright X-rays than other
space telescopes as it has a larger detection area and a broader energy range which makes it easier to
scan the galaxy.

Days

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2017 observed

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was observed globally on 15 June 2017. The day is observed to
voice against abuse and suffering inflicted on older people.

The theme of the 2017 World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is Understand and End Financial Abuse of
Older People: A Human Rights Issue.

The theme of the year explores effective means of strengthening protections against financial and
material exploitation. The theme also focuses on improving the understanding of this form of elder
abuse and discussing ways of ensuring the participation of older adults themselves in ending
victimization.

The theme will further serve to inform the thematic discussions of the upcoming eighth session of the
General Assemblys Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, which will take place in New York from 5
to 7 July 2017.

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Obituaries

Former Chief Justice of India PN Bhagwati passes away

Former Chief Justice of India PN Bhagwati passed away on 15 June 2017 following a brief illness in
New Delhi. He was 95. He is survived by his wife and three daughters.

Bhagwati was considered as a pioneer of Judicial Activism in the country for introducing the concept
of PILs.

One of the important judgments pronounced by him was in the Maneka Gandhi passport impounding
case in 1978 in which he elaborated the concept of Right To Life, and ruled that a person's movement
cannot be restricted.

He was the only dissenting judge in the Minerva Mill case who upheld the 42nd Constitution
amendment during Emergency.

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