Daily Current Affairs, 01st June 2018

1) PM Modi 3-Nation Visit: Launches International Rupay Card, Bhim App And UPI In Singapore

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three Indian digital payment systems - RuPay, BHIM app and UPI by SBI at the 'Business, Innovation and Community Event' in Singapore. With the launch, India's RuPay digital payments system was linked up with Singapore's 33-year old Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS).

•The move will enable RuPay users to make payments at all of NETS acceptance points across Singapore. Whereas, holders of Singapore NETS will be able to make online purchase on any National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) e-commerce merchant website in India, using 2.8 million RuPay point of sale terminals in India.

2) Andhra Pradesh Gets Its Own Symbols

•Neem and black buck have been declared as the state tree and animal respectively of Andhra Pradesh.

•Rose-ringed parakeet will be the state bird while jasmine will be the state flower. The announcement was made by the Principal Secretary of Environment and Forests G Anantha Ramu.

3) Nirmala Sitharaman Inaugurated 1st IAF Commanders Conference

•The First biannual Indian Air Force Commanders’ Conference was inaugurated by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at Air Headquarters in New Delhi. Minister of State for Defence Dr Subhash Bhamre, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa were among those who were present at the conference.

•The Exercise ‘Gagan Shakti’ was mentioned as the landmark exercise for IAF. The IAF has opened up several of its airfields for civil aircraft operations for the scheme. The two-day conference discussed operational, maintenance and administrative takeaways identified during the Exercise and the way ahead.

4) US Pacific Command Renamed As Indo-Pacific Command

•The United States has renamed its oldest and largest military command, US Pacific Command, or PACOM, to Indo-Pacific Command, according to the US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

•The decision has been taken in recognition of the growing importance of the Indian Ocean in US strategic thinking. The Trump administration had also renamed Asia Pacific as Indo-Pacific and identified India as one bookend of the region.

5) Kendrick Lamar Receives Pulitzer Prize In Music

•Kendrick Lamar received the Pulitzer Prize in music for his album “Damn.”  Lamar is the first rapper in history to be given the award.

•Previous recipients included Bob Dylan, Hank Williams and Duke Ellington. Lamar had received this award at Columbia University.

6) Kailash Satyarthi And ISRO Chief Gets 'Santokbaa Humanitarian' Award

•President Ram Nath Kovind presented the 'Santokbaa Humanitarian Award' to Child rights activist and Noble Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and space scientist A S Kiran Kumar, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Surat, Gujarat.

•The award was instituted by Shree Ramkrishna Knowledge Foundation (SRKKF) and led by diamond baron Govind Dholakia. The award includes a trophy and a prize money of Rs 1 crore each to the awardees.

7) Vijay Goel Confers FICCI Smart Policing Awards 2018

•Statistics and Programme Implementation Minister Vijay Goel conferred FICCI Smart Policing Awards 2018 to police officials of central armed police force and states police in New Delhi. 

•The 3rd edition of the event was part of a two-day long conference on Homeland Security-Cyber Crime Management. The conference aimed at showcasing smart initiatives and best practices taken by the police to combat crimes in their respected area.

8) Indian Economy Grows 7.7% In 4th Quarter: Central Statistics Data

•The Indian economy grew 7.7% in the fourth quarter of 2017-18. The GDP had expanded 5.6%, 6.3% and 7%, in the first three quarters of 2017-18, according to the data released by Central Statistics Office.

•As per the Data, robust performance in manufacturing, construction and service sectors, as well as good farm output, contributed to the overall growth. The previous high GDP growth of 8.1% was recorded in the first quarter of 2016-17.