26th JUNE CURRENT AFFAIRS IN ENGLISH

1. UN MSME Day to be celebrated on 27th June 2018

The Ministry of Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), will organizea National Conclave (Udyam Sangam) on 27th June 2018 on the occasion of UN MSME Day.

• The purpose of the Conclave is to encourage dialogue and partnership among various stakeholders of the MSME ecosystem and for promoting innovation and knowledge sharing on MSME related issues.

2. Government to set up regulator for skills training

The government is to set up an independent regulator for skills training in the country, as skill development and entrepreneurship ministry failed in its efforts to improve the quality of skills imparted by various bodies and institutions.

• The skill development and entrepreneurship ministry will act as the administrative ministry for the regulator.
• Skills training in India is governed by different bodies and regulations such as the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) and the National Skills Development Authority (NSDA).

3. India and Seychelles agree on naval base at Assumption Island

India and Seychelles has agreed to work together on a project to develop a naval base at the Assumption Island keeping each other's concerns in mind after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Danny Faure.

• India also announced a USD 100-million credit to Seychelles for augmenting its defence capabilities.
• With this credit Seychelles will be able to buy defence equipments from India to build its maritime capacity.

4. Group of Eminent Personalities to study the SEZ Policy holds its first meeting

The group of eminent personalities constituted by the Government of India to study the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Policy of India held its first meeting on 22nd June under the aegis of Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu.

• Baba Kalyani, Chairman Bharat Forge, who is Chairman of this group, pointed out that biggest challenge today was creation of jobs and the focus of the group would be to address this issue.
• The group will make suggestion for shift from fiscal incentives to employment based incentives, reframe the boundaries and introduce grandfathering clause for existing provisions.

5. Suresh Prabhu chairs India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission

Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation of India, Suresh Prabhu co-chaired the 15th Session of the India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission with the Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Steven Ciobo, in Canberra.

• Both Ministers emphasized the need forgrowth in two-way trade and investment.
• They discussed about how mutual strengths could contribute to economic modernization.

6. 51 Lakh Houses Sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in Three Years

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) conducted its 35th Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) meeting of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) – Urban on 25.06.2018 where a total of 3,18,900 houses from 6 States/UTs were approved.  

• With this, the PMAY (U) has approved more than 51 Lakhs dwelling units against the estimated demand of 1 crore.
• As the scheme is   completing its 3rd year of implementation today, a significant milestone of more than 51 lakh houses approved has been achieved.
• This is a huge jump in comparison to old housing scheme where 12.4 Lakh houses were approved in around 9 years of its implementation.
• Such unprecedented performance is due to innovative architecture of the scheme where flexibility has been given to the States/UTs to approve the projects. 
• Further, rather than a rigid approach, beneficiaries are free to choose from 4 verticals of the Mission as per their preference.
• The State of Maharashtra has taken a big stride in achieving its target of providing houses to slum dwellers by getting 2.48 lakh houses approved in 35thCSMC.

7. Report on ‘Women in Prisons’ launched

The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has come up with its report titled ‘Women in Prisons’ which aims to build an understanding of the various entitlements of women in prisons, the various issues faced by them and possible methods for resolution of the same.

The report contains a comprehensive list of 134 recommendations for improving the lives of women under incarceration.

Main Features of the report are:

• The report proposes that bail should be granted to those under-trial women who have spent one-third of their maximum possible sentence in detention, by making necessary changes in Section 436A of the CrPC which provides for release after half of the maximum sentence has been served.
• Considering the needs of women in their post-natal stages, the report recommends a separate accommodation for mothers in post-natal stage to maintain hygiene and protect the infant from contagion, for at least a year after childbirth.
• To make legal aid more effective, the report suggests that legal consultations must be conducted in confidentiality and without censorship
• Re-integration of women in society is a grave problem, due to the stigma attached to incarceration. In the study conducted by MWCD, it was found that in many cases, women were abandoned by their families and were left to fend for themselves after their release.

8. Government proposes to set up 3000 Van Dhan Kendras

The Government proposes to set up 3000 Van Dhan Kendras involving 30,000 SHGs across the country under the Van Dhan Scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

• In a new game changing initiative, the Prime Minister launched the Van Dhan Scheme of Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED on 14th April, 2018 during the celebrations of Ambedkar Jayanti at Bijapur Chattisgarh. 
• Emphasizing the important role of value addition in increasing tribal incomes, the Prime Minister stated that Van Dhan, Jandhan and Goverdhan Schemes had the potential to change the tribal-rural economic system.

9. National Seminar on Conservation of Particularly Vulnerable Tribes of Andaman & Nicobar Islands

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) is organizing a National Seminar on “Conservation of Particularly Vulnerable Tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands: The Way Forward” on 27th and 28th June, 2018 at Kamaladevi Multipurpose Hall, India International Centre, Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi. 

• About 44 Ministries/Departments have been invited by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to present their strategies and approach towards PVTGs in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• This Seminar is being organized in collaboration with Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) and Directors of 18 Tribal Research Institutes in different States have also been invited to deliberate on critical issues of tribal groups who are at the verge of extinction. 
• Vice Chancellors of six Universities including Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak will provide academic inputs on PVTGs. 

10. Saudi ARAMCO and ADNOC sign MoU for participating in the Ratnagiri Refinery project

Saudi Aramco and ADNOC signed an MoU today to jointly develop and build an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. The project will be implemented by Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (RRPCL). 

• Earlier, Saudi Aramco had joined the project by signing an MoU with the Indian consortium on 11th April 2018 on the sidelines of the16 International Energy Forum Ministerial.
• RRPCL which is promoted by a consortium of India PSUs consisting of IOCL, BPCL and HPCLwill now have Saudi Aramco & ADNOC as overseas strategic partners.
• The project will be set up as a 50:50 joint partnership (50:50) between the consortium from India and Saudi Aramco and ADNOC. This will be single largest overseas investment in the Indian refining sector.

11. Erdogan wins re-election as Turkish president

Turkey's long-standing leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a new five-year term after securing outright victory in the first round of a presidential poll.

• Mr Erdogan got nearly 53% with almost all votes counted. His closest rival Muharrem Ince was on 31%.