Daily Current Affairs Updates: 03 June 2014

1) RBI kept key policy rates unchanged, slashed SLR by 50 bps:  Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan kept the key policy repo rate unchanged at 8 per cent on Tuesday, as widely expected, with consumer price inflation coming down this year after a series of tightening steps by the central bank. The central bank also took steps to increase the availability of credit, reducing the mandatory amount of bonds lenders must park at the RBI — called the statutory liquidity ratio — by 50 basis points to 22.5 per cent of deposits, starting in mid-June.

>> Current RBI Rates are as follows:

1) Bank Rate : 9 % : from 28th January 2014

2) Repo Rate:  8 %: from 28th January 2014

3) Reverse Repo Rate: 7 %: from 28th January 2014

4) Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): 4.00%: from 9th February 2013

5) Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): 22.50%: from 3rd June 2014

6) Marginal Standing Facility (MSF): 9%: 28th January 2014

2) Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde died in road accident: Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde was on his way to the Delhi airport on Tuesday morning to catch a flight to his constituency in Beed of Maharashtra to address a victory rally when he was killed in a road accident. Around 6.20 a.m. at a traffic intersection, an Indica, driven by Gurvinder Singh, hit Mr. Munde’s official car on the rear left side, where he was sitting. The post-mortem report revealed that the 64-year-old Minister died of cardiac arrest. Mr. Munde’s liver was ruptured and he suffered two fractures in the spine. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said a litre and a half of blood got accumulated in Mr. Munde’s abdomen. Mr. Munde’s driver took him to the AIIMS, where he was declared dead around 7.20 a.m.

3) Hashim Amla Named New South African Test Captain: South African star batsman Hashim Alma was named the country's Test cricket captain on Tuesday, replacing retiring Graeme Smith who led the side for a decade. A "glad and humbled" Amla said he would give "all his heart" to the role, vowing to put together a "winning combination" able to return South Africa to the top of the Test rankings. Amla, 31, who made his test debut against India in Kolkata 10 years ago, praised the work done by his predecessor, whose legacy looms large. Smith had captained South Africa in a world-record 109 Tests before announcing his retirement during the third and final Test against Australia last March. Amla's first assignment will be to lead South Africa in two Tests in Sri Lanka during July.

4) Microsoft Devices launches Nokia 225 feature phone at Rs 3,329: Microsoft Devices has launched Nokia 225, a new, entry level feature phone, at Rs 3,329. The phone comes with a 2.8-inch QVGA display and will be available in a number of colours including red, green, yellow, white and black.

Nokia 225 also features a splash and dust-proof keymat. The dual-sim phone doesn't offer 3G or Wi-Fi connectivity options but supports mobile data on 2G.

5) Oman foreign minister meets PM, Sushma: Oman Foreign Minister Yousuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah, the first foreign dignitary to visit India since the Narendra Modi government came to power, Tuesday met the prime minister, as also External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, and discussed ways to boost trade and investment between the two countries. Abdullah, special envoy of the sultan of Oman, called on Prime Minister Modi at his South Block office and conveyed the greetings of the Sultan and reaffirmed the importance of ties with India.

6) Jammu and Kashmir raised retirement age of employee to 60: Jammu and Kashmir government on 3 June 2014 announced the enhancement of the retirement age of government employees from 58 to 60 years. The cabinet also raised the upper age limit for youths to obtain government jobs from 37 to 40 years. It also announced several other employee-friendly measures and pledged itself to redress their grievances.

7) UP government ordered establishment of women helpline in each district of State: Akhilesh Yadav, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on 3 May 2014 ordered setting up of women helpline in 75 districts of the state. As per the directive, the helpline of each district will be monitored and maintained by the SSP and SP of the district.