Important Current Affairs Updates: 2 June 2014

1) India’s 29th state Telangana is born: Turning the clock back 57 years when Telugu-speaking Telangana region of Hyderabad was merged with Andhra state in November 1956, a new state of Telangana came into being, capping numerous struggles for statehood. It is for the first time since 2000 - when three new states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand were carved out of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh respectively during NDA's rule at the Centre - that a new state has been created. The governor will be responsible for law and order in Hyderabad that will be the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for a 10-year period, according to legislation passed by Parliament. Hyderabad will become the exclusive capital of Telangana after the 10-year period. Read more details from here.

2)  K Chandrasekhar Rao sworn in as the first CM of Telengana State: Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday took over as the first chief minister of Telangana as the stroke of midnight hour heralded its birth as the 29th state of the Union, ending decades of turbulent struggle for the region in Andhra Pradesh. Rao, who quit the Telugu Desam Party and floated TRS in 2001 to champion the cause of separate statehood, was sworn in as the CM by governor ESL Narasimhan. His son KT Rama Rao, nephew T Harish Rao and nine others were also sworn in. The TRS emerged as the single largest party in the new state assembly during elections in April-May, winning 63 seats in the 119-member House.

3) Mallikarjun Kharge to be leader of Congress in Lok Sabha: With Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi reluctant to take on the responsibility of leading his party in the Lok Sabha, party chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday nominated former Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge as the leader of the party in the lower house. However, it is still unclear whether the Congress, with its all-time low tally of 44, will get the Leader of the Opposition status. Kharge, 71, the party’s veteran Congress leader from Karnataka and its Dalit face in the state, is a second-term MP. He is also a nine-time MLA, having never lost an election, and was the Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka.

4) Virat Kohli bags Ceat International Cricketer of the Year award: India's top batsman Virat Kohli on Monday won the Ceat International Cricketer of the Year award while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the fastest player from the country to pick 100 Test wickets, bagged the Indian Player of the Year award for 2013-14. Left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan was named the International Player of the Year while Robin Uthappa, who was part of the triumphant Karnataka Ranji Trophy team, clinched the Domestic Cricketer of the Year honour at a function held in Mumbai.

5) England beat India 2-1 in World Cup Hockey: India crashed to their second defeat in the men's hockey World Cup by conceding a late goal yet again to go down 1-2 against England at the Kyocera Stadium on Monday. England prevailed through a 69th-minute penalty corner rebound conversion by Simon Mantell.

6) RK Malhotra given additional charge as Chairman of IOC: R K Malhotra, Director (R&D) at Indian Oil Corp (IOC), has been given additional charge as Chairman of the nation's largest company as appointment of a regular head has been delayed. RS Butola retired as Chairman of IOC on Saturday but the appointment of his successor B Ashok, who was selected by government head-hunters Public Enterprise Selection Board ( PESB) in October 2013, is yet to be formalised.

7) Kavery Banerjee is new Secretary at Department of Posts: The government on Monday approved Kavery Banerjee as Secretary of Department of Posts following retirement of P Gopinath on May 31. "The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Ms Kavery Banerjee, IPoS (Indian Postal Services) 78, as Secretary, Department of Posts, Chairperson, Postal Services Board and Director General, Postal Services," an official statement said. Banerjee was serving as Member (Technology) in Postal Services Board before being elevated to the new post.

8) Samsung to launch first Tizen-based smartphone: amsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) plans to launch the first smartphone based on its Tizen operating system in the third quarter, marking the company's latest bid to build up its own ecosystem and reduce reliance on Google Inc's (GOOGL.O) Android. The South Korean firm on Monday said the Samsung Z, which comes with a 4.8 inch high-definition display and offers features such as a fingerprint sensor, will be unveiled at the Tizen Developer Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

9) Indo-French air exercise begins: The fifth Indo-French bilateral air exercise — Garuda-V — began at the Jodhpur Air Base on Monday. It is aimed at enhancing operational cooperation and validating capabilities. The exercise will involve the assets of IAF’s main operational formations, including the Gandhinagar-based South Western Air Command and the Allahabad-based Central Air Command.

10) SIT draws up roadmap to retrieve black money: The special investigation team set up to probe black money stashed by Indians abroad held its first meeting on Monday during which the roadmap on how to proceed was decided and all agencies were asked to give inputs on black money cases. Sources privy to the meeting said the SIT headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice MB Shah decided to examine whether some of the black money cases could be put on fast track.

11) Arun Jaitley appointed on ADB's Board of Governors: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been appointed on the Board of Governors of Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB). "The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been appointed as India's Governor on the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank with effect from May 27," according to an official statement. The position was previously held by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

12) Anand Mahindra receives Harvard Medal:  Mahindra Group chairman Anand G Mahindra became the first Indian to receive the prestigious Harvard Medal for his 'dedication, generosity and service' to the university. Harvard president Drew Faust, the Lincoln professor of history, presented Mahindra with the medal at the annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association during Harvard's 363rd Commencement Afternoon Program on May 29.