Daily Current Affairs-10th,11th June 2016
Bindra Named India’s Flagbearer at Rio
- Olympic champion shooter Abhinav Bindra was chosen as the flagbearer of the Indian contingent at the Rio Games’ opening ceremony on Aug 5.
- He was earlier named one of the goodwill ambassadors for the Indian contingent.
- He is till date remains the country’s only sportsperson to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Olympics.
- He achieved the feat at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Malabar Joint Military Exercise Begins
- The first phase of the Malabar joint military exercise between India,Japan & the US took off at Japan’s Sasebo city.
- The first harbour phase will conclude on June 13.
- The 2nd phase will run June 14-17 off Okinawa Island.
- Malabar 2016 is aim at strengthening mutual confidence & sharing of best practices between the three Navies.
- The exercise will support maritime security in the region,
Maha to Observe Yoga Day on Every Month
- The Maharashtra government has decided to celebrate the 21st day of every month as Yoga Day across all schools, colleges & universities in the State.
- It is also decided that every district will have to set up a Yoga Day committee at their levels to plan ‘Yoga Mahostav’ every year in between Jan 12 & 21.
- A separate committee at the State level will monitor & coordinate with these committees.
Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes List 2016
- Forbes has released the annual ranking of the World’s 100 Highest-Paid Athletes.
- Ronaldo grabbed the top position of the list with earnings of $88 million.
- Other soccer superstar Lionel Messi ranks No. 2 with earnings of 81.4 million US dollars.
- The NBA’s LeBron James ranks third with total earnings of $77.2 million.
- No Indian cricketer or athlete finds a spot.
Ujjwala Yojana Launched in Uttarakhand
- Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for the State of Uttarakhand.
- The Programme was launched by handing over new connections to the beneficiaries.
- The scheme aims at providing LPG connnections to five crore BPL families across the country by 2019.
- The Yojana was launched by the PM Modi at Ballia in U.P. on May 1 this year.
Axis Bank Launches Certified Green Bond
- Axis Bank has launched India’s first internationally-listed certified green bond to finance climate change solutions around the world.
- It has raised 500 million dollars at the London Stock Exchange after it launched.
- The proceeds of the bond will be invested in green energy & infrastructure projects.
- Green Bonds enable capital-raising for new & existing projects with environmental benefits.
Ice Hockey Legend Gordie Howe Dies
- Legendary Canadian ice hockey player Gordie Howe has passed away.
- He was nicknamed Mr. Hockey has died at the age of 88.
- He was in the top 10 of scorers for 21 consecutive years.
- He was named Most Valuable Player six times, before finally retiring in 1980.
- He was also named an NHL All-Star 23 times & was inducted into the hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.
Gawker Files for Bankruptcy
- Online news site Gawker has filed for bankruptcy after losing a $140m (£97m) privacy case earlier this year.
- The company filed for bankruptcy protection, which could allow it to avoid paying the damages.
- In March, Gawker was ordered to pay wrestler Hulk Hogan for invading his privacy.
- Gawker, however planned to appeal against the ruling & would continue to operate.
NIIF,Qatar Investment Authority Ink MoU
- The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has signed a MoU with Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) for facilitating investment in India’s infrastructure.
- This is the third MoU of NIIF after those with Rusnano of Russia & ADIA of Abu Dhabi.
- NIIF is an investment vehicle for funding commercially viable greenfield & stalled projects.
- It is India’s first Rs.40000 Cr sovereign wealth fund.
Telangana is India’s Most Non-veg State
- Telangana has the highest proportion of meat-eaters in the country with almost 99% of its residents being non-vegetarians.
- This was according to a survey by Registrar General of India of people aged 15 yrs & above.
- Telangana is followed by West Bengal & Andhra Pradesh in terms of highest non-vegetarian population.
- The states with highest vegetarian population include Rajasthan, Punjab & Haryana.