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  • Current Affairs 28th June 2017

    Updated : 28-Jun-2017

    Current Affairs 28th June 2017 - Important Points

    • 1st Indian to finish Race Across America in solo category - Srinivas Gokulnath
    • Dhanraj Pillay to get East Bengal football club's highest honour on - 1st Aug 2017
    • India and Myanmar convened - 6th Joint Trade Committee
    • Who has been appointed as President of India International Center?- Narinder Nath Vohra
    • Biggest new generation destroyer launched by - Chinese Navy
    • India's largest container port, hit by cyber attack is - Jawaharlal Nehru Port
    • China is added to the list of Worst Human Trafficking Offenders by - US
    • Lasith Malinga gets one-year ban for - Media remarks

    Current Affairs 28th June 2017 - Details

    1st Indian to finish Race Across America in solo category - Srinivas Gokulnath

    Two Indians from Maharashtra, Amit Samarth and Srinivas Gokulnath created history on 25th June 2017 by becoming the first from the country to complete the 4900 km long Race Across America (RAAM) in the solo category.
    RAAM is considered as one of the most esteemed ultra-endurance cycling events in the world. 36-year-old Gokulnath finished the distance in 11 days and 18 hours whereas Samarth took 11 days and 21 hours to finish the race. 

    Important Highlights

    • Gokulnath stood 7th followed by Samarth in the 8th position among 9 men who could finished the game.
    • The riders were expected to finish the distance of 4941kms in 288 hours. Christoph Strasser was the winner of the race.
    • From Gokulnath's hometown of Nashik, Team Sahyadri Cyclists completed the race in the 4-men category in eight days and 10 hrs.
    • In the race’s three-decade-old history, only three Indians attempted to compete in its solo category but were not able to complete it prior to this year.
    • Gokulnath,an aerospace medicine specialist working with the Army in Nashik, competed in the race for the second consecutive year.
    • He had withdrawn from the race’s 2016 edition after covering the distance of 2447 km.
    • Apart from Rizvi and Gokulnath, Sumit Patil from Alibag was the third person to have attempted the race in the past.
    • Samarth, an MBBS and has a Master’s Degree in Public Health, finished the race in his maiden attempt.

    Dhanraj Pillay to get East Bengal football club's highest honor on - 1st Aug 2017

    Former Indian hockey captain, Dhanraj Pillay would be granted East Bengal football club's highest honor - Bharat Gaurav -at its foundation day ceremony on 1st August 2017.
    Speaking on the occasion, club secretary Kalyan Majumdar stated that Pillay's contribution to Indian hockey is immense and that the club is honored and humbled that he has accepted their request and will be present for the Foundation Day.
    More about Dhanraj Pillay

    • Born on 16th July 1968, Pillay currently serves as the manager of the Indian national hockey team.
    • He is also a member of the ad hoc committee of Indian Hockey Federation. This committee was formed after the suspension of Kanwar Pal Singh Gill.
    • He is regarded as one of India's best hockey players ever.
    • He has the distinction of representing India at four Olympics, Champions Trophy, World Cups,and Asian Games in his career spanning more than 15 years.
    • He has made 339 appearances for the national team and scored 170 goals after his debut in 1989.
    • He also played for clubs in countries such as France, Malaysia, England and Germany.
    • In an attempt to recognize his achievements, Indian Government had awarded him with the Padma Shri in 2000.

    India and Myanmar convened - 6th Joint Trade Committee

    The 6th India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee (JTC) Meeting was held on 27th June 2017 at New Delhi co-chaired by Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Commerce & Industry from India and Dr. Than Myint, Union Commerce Minister from Myanmar.
    The Joint Trade Committee plays a key role in facilitating issues related to the enhancement of the bilateral economic partnership between both the countries.
    Key Highlights

    • Sitharaman stated that the bilateral trade between both the countries has a much larger untapped potential and she sought the cooperation from Myanmar in  pursuing enhanced sea, road and air connectivity between both the countries.
    • Further, speaking on the progress made by India in various components of the Kaladan Multimodal Transport Project,
    • she sought the cooperation of the Myanmar to expedite work from their side.
    • She also stated the need for the Myanmar side to allow expeditious completion of the inland waterway works linking the Port of Sittwe to the Myanmar hinterland.
    • She also drew the attention of Myanmar to an expeditious negotiation of a Motor Vehicle Agreement bilaterally that would facilitate seamless movement of cargo vehicles between the countries.
    • Discussions were also held to explore the feasibility of direct shipping lines with Sittwe port and Vizag/ Chennai.
    • The need for the direct air connectivity with Chennai and Guwahati was also discussed.
    • Besides this, the Minister also requested the Myanmar Government and its business community to be active partner in India’s initiatives to strengthen its manufacturing capacities such as ‘Make in India’ and stated that India is also ready for the similar move in Myanmar too.
    • Sitharaman also expressed hope that both the countries together would be able to deepen their manufacturing capabilities, learn from each other’s experiences and create a better regional platform for trade and commerce.

    Who has been appointed as President of India International Center?- Narinder Nath Vohra

    Jammu and Kashmir Governor Narinder Nath Vohra was appointed the President of the India International Centre (IIC) in the last week of June 2017. Vohra was appointed as the president at the Annual General Meeting, which was held on 23rd June 2017.

    More about Narinder Nath Vohra

    • He is the 12th Governor of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir and the first civilian Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in 18 years after Jagmohan.
    • He served in the IAS between 1959 and 1994 and as a Defense Secretary from 1990 to 1993.
    • He was Principal Secretary to Prime Minister I. K. Gujral in 1997-98.
    • He was awarded with the Padma Vibhushan for his services to the nation in 2007.
      Do you know?
      The India International Center founded by Japanese prince Akihito, is a well known non-official organisation situated in New Delhi. An American architect, Joseph Allen Stein designed it.

    Biggest new generation destroyer launched by - Chinese Navy

    China’s Navy launched its biggest new generation destroyer that weighs around 10,000 tonnes at the Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) in Shanghai on 28th June 2017. This launch is a part of the country’s massive expansion effort to be a global naval power.
    The new destroyer is the first of China’s new generation of destroyers. This vessel is domestically designed and produced.

    Important Highlights

    • The destroyer is equipped with new anti-missile, air defense, anti-submarine weapons and anti-ship.
    • This ship is considered to be a successor class to the country’s smaller Type 052D guided missile destroyers and the first type 055 destroyer.
    • The vessel will be undergoing planned testing including berthing, equipment operation and sailing before it is authorized into use.
    • It's an addition to two aircraft carriers that China is in the process to deploy to compete with other naval powers viz the US and India, especially in the Indian Ocean.
    • The first aircraft carrier ‘Liaoning’ departed from Qingdao in east China on 25th June with a fleet of Chinese naval ships for a ‘routine training mission’.
    • This new generation destroyer is expected to be operational by 2019.

    India's largest container port, hit by cyber attack is - Jawaharlal Nehru Port

    Operations at one of three terminals at India's largest container port Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT)
    in Mumbai were disrupted by the global ransomware attack on 27th June 2017. The attack was confirmed by the port authorities on 28th June 2017.
    Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk operates the impacted terminal.
    The Maersk group confirmed individually on 27th June that its operations were hit by a cyber attack named Petya that affected its multiple sites and selected business units.

    The group’s statement read, “We are responding to the situation to limit the impact and uphold operations." Anil Diggikar, JNPT chairman also stated that the port has been trying to clear containers manually but its operating capacity has dropped to one third at the terminal due to this attack resulting in piling up containers outside the port because of loaning and unloading delay at Gatewar Terminals India.  AP Moller-Maersk operates the Gateway Terminals India (GTI) with the capacity of 1.8 million standard container units at JNPT.
    Do you know?
    Ransomware ,a malicious software blocks the User's access to the data and threatens to publish or delete it until a ransom is paid.

    China is added to the list of Worst Human Trafficking Offenders by - US

    The United States State Department issued highly public criticism of China in its latest annual report on the global state of human trafficking in the last week of June 2017.
    As per the Trafficking in Persons report, China is among the worst human trafficking offenders.
    China is now grouped with other Tier 3 offenders such as Iran, North Korea, Syria and Russia.

    China was downgraded to Tier 3 status in 2017 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) as it has not taken serious steps to end its own complicity in trafficking, including forced labors from North Korea that are located in China. Several other countries like Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali were downgraded to Tier 3 status. 

    Tier 3 is used to describe countries that are making no significant effort towards improving and to comply with international standards.
    China was last ranked in tier 3 group in 2013. Since then, it had moved up a half-notch.
    North Korea receives hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from forced labor sent primarily from Russia and China.

    Lasith Malinga gets one-year ban for - Media remarks

    Lasith Malinga, fast bowler from Sri Lanka has been handed over a suspension ban of six months after a disciplinary inquiry found him guilty for breaching  his contract by speaking to the media without permission.
    Malinga will also be fined with the 50 percent of the match fee from his next one-day international.
    He will also be facing a disciplinary inquiry over his comments about Sri Lanka's Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara.

    Key Highlights
    Malinga appeared before Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) special inquiry panel on 27th June 2017, where he accepted the charges against him and tendered a formal apology.