Daily Current Affairs, 06th June 2019

1) PM Modi Forms 2 Cabinet Panels For Growth & Jobs

•In a bid to spur investment and create new employment opportunities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set up two Cabinet committees to deal with the two crucial issues. Both the panels, respectively on Investment and Growth and on Employment and Skill Development, will be headed by the prime minister. 

•The Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth will have Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sithataman, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Railways and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as its members.

•The Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development will include, besides Shah, Sithataman and Goyal, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Skill Development M N Pandey, Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar and Housing and Urban Development Minister Hardip Puri.

2) Government Reconstitutes 8 Cabinet Committees

•The Government has reconstituted eight Cabinet Committees. These are Appointments Committee, Committees on Accommodation, Economic Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs, Political Affairs, Security, Investment and Growth and Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development.

•The Cabinet Committee on Security will have Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar.

•Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has Prime Minister Modi and Mr Shah. While Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth will have the Prime Minister and Ministers of Home, Road Transport and Highways, Finance and Corporate Affairs and Railways and Commerce and Industry.

3) India Test Fires Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile From Chandipur in Odisha

•India has successfully test fired Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile from Chandipur in Odisha. Described as the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile with high rate of precision and accuracy, BrahMos can be fired from land, sea and air. BrahMos is a joint venture between the DRDO and the NPOM(a Russian military technology firm) of Russia.

4) Russia Launches 1st Arctic Train Service

•In Russia, the first tourist train traveling through Russia’s Arctic region and on to Norway set off from St. Petersburg station with 91 passengers aboard for the inaugural trial journey. The tourists came from seven countries including the US, Germany, Norway and Russia.

•The train, named, Zarengold, complete with two restaurant cars will travel from Saint Petersburg through, the whole trip will take 11 days and allow passengers to discover areas difficult to access by other means.

5) 2nd Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement Released: Repo Rate Reduced to 5.75%

•The 2nd Bi-Monthly monetary policy statement has been released. On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting decided to:

1.Reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 5.75% from 6.00% with immediate effect.
2.Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 5.50%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.0%. 
3.GDP growth for 2019-20 is projected at 7.2%.

•GDP growth plunged to a five-year low of 5.8% in the January-March quarter due to lackluster growth in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, trade, hotels and power sectors. This, in turn, pulled down the FY19 GDP growth rate to a five-year low of 6.8%. The next meeting of the MPC is scheduled during August 5 to 7, 2019.

6) ‘Cyclone Man’ Mrutyunjay Mohapatra Appointed IMD Chief

•Renowned scientist and cyclone warning specialist Mrutyunjay Mohapatra was appointed as the chief of India Meteorological Department (IMD). Mohapatra and his team at the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD have earned praise for their accurate forecasts on cyclones, its wind-speed and likely impact on life and property including during the recent cyclone ‘Fani’, when their timely warnings enabled the authorities to ensure early evacuation of millions of people. He will assume charge in August.

7) Sunil Chhetri Becomes Most Capped India Player

•Sunil Chhetri became the most capped India player by surpassing Bhaichung Bhutia’s 107 international matches. In his milestone match of the King’s Cup football tournament in Buriram, Thailand, he scored the lone goal for his side for his 69th goal.