Current Affairs 18-06-2020

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has further eased fund-raising norms for firms.
SEBI has allowed companies to make two qualified institutional placements (QIPs) with a gap of just two weeks between them. The earlier regulations mandated a minimum gap of six months between two such issuances.

The Sports Ministry is all set to establish Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCE) under the ministry’s flagship, Khelo India Scheme to enhance India's Olympic performance.
One KISCE will be identified in each state and union territory, with an effort to create a robust sporting ecosystem in the entire country.
In the first leg, the Ministry has identified state-owned sports facilities in eight states of India, including, Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala, Telengana, and the northeast states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland which will be upgraded into KISCE.
The State and Union Territory will run the center and build capacity to turn it into the world-class sporting facility.

The US Supreme Court ruled that the federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex should be interpreted to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
The country’s SC decided that gay and transgender people are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The title prohibits employment discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex and national origin.
The landmark ruling represented the biggest moment for LGBT rights in the United States since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.

North Korea blew up the joint liaison office with South Korea in Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC). The demolition follows a recent deterioration in relations between North and South Korea.
The project was launched in 2004, largely financed by the South to increase co-operation.
South Korea has said the purpose of the KIC was to develop an industrial park where South Korean companies could manufacture their products using North Korean labor.
It argued that would help North Korea start to reform its economy, which is in a dire state, and ease tensions between the two Koreas. It is one of the last remaining points of peaceful engagement between North and South Korea.

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its report said, that India received 51 billion US dollars in foreign investment in 2019.
India was the world's ninth-largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in 2019.
In the developing Asia region, India was among the top five host economies for FDI.

The movie, Axone: A recipe for disaster, was recently released on NETFLIX.
Axone — also spelled akhuni — is a fermented soya bean of Nagaland, known for its distinctive flavor and smell.
Axone is prepared and eaten across Nagaland but is particularly popular among the Sumi (also Sema) tribe

Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Sanitary Napkin is being made available in more than 6300 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushdhi Pariyojna -PMBJP Kendras across the country at a minimum price of Rs.1/-per pad. The market price of the similar Sanitary Napkins is around Rs. 3/- to Rs. 8/- per pad.
On the eve of World Environment Day 4th June 2018, the Government of India proudly announced the launch of “Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Oxo-Biodegradable Sanitary Napkin” for women of India.
Sanitary Napkins are environmental friendly, as these pads are made with Oxo-biodegradable material complying with ASTM D-6954 (biodegradability test) standards.
Sanitary Napkins are environmental friendly, as these pads are made with Oxo-biodegradable material complying with ASTM D-6954 (biodegradability test) standards.
This step ensured ‘Swachhta, Swasthya and Suvidha’ for the underprivileged Women of India.

Researchers leading a major clinical trial in the UK announced that the drug dexamethasone had been found to cut death rates by around a third in the most severely ill among Covid-19 patients.
Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid, an easily available medicine that prevents the release of substances in the body that cause inflammation. Its effects are frequently seen within a day and last for about three days.
The drug is used when there is any inflammation in the body due to infection or injury.
The low-cost, anti-inflammatory steroid is well known in the world of sport. Dexamethasone has been used for years by sportspersons to hasten their rehabilitation from injuries and recover from infections.
The “first drug to be shown to improve survival” in the pandemic was hailed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as “the biggest breakthrough yet” in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

In Sikkim, the State Cabinet decided to allow Economically Weaker Sections of people who do not fall in the reserved category of ST, SC and OBC for 10 percent Central reservation. The notification regarding the entitlements to the reservation will be issued within a week.
have an annual family income of less than rupees eight lakhs, or
who possess less than five acres of land or less than 1,000 square feet residential flat in any municipal area or less than 100 square yards of residential plot in a municipal area or less than 200 square yards of residential plot outside municipal area along the roadside or in commercial areas.
The reservation will not apply to technical and scientific posts and other such posts that are outside the purview of the Central services.

A team of researchers from IIT Madras, Cancer Institute, Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, and IISc Bengaluru have identified a specific micro-RNA (miRNAs) called ‘miR-155’ that is over-expressed in tongue cancer.
Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are small Ribo Nucleic Acid.
This finding is important in that molecular strategies can potentially be devised to manipulate miR-155 expression to develop therapeutics for tongue cancer.