Daily Current Affairs 1st June, 2018

Daily Current Affairs 1 June 2018 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

World Environment Day 2018 Celebrations Begins

The global celebrations of World Environment Day 2018, being hosted by India, kicked off on June 1, 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

• A thematic knowledge conference on “Plastic Pollution and Management” was organized to mark the beginning of 5-day long celebration of World Environment Day, 2018 (WED-2018).
• The conference had three thematic sessions reflecting the “Beat Plastic Pollution” theme of this year’s World Environment Day and focussed on the management of plastic pollution.

Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launches Online Analytical Tool  to monitor foreign contributions under FCRA 

Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has launched an Online Analytical Tool to facilitate closer monitoring of the flow and utilisation of foreign contributions received by various organisations registered or permitted under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.

• This web-based tool enables decision-makers in various Departments of Government to scrutinise source of foreign funds and their actual use in India.
• It gives them capacity to take data-driven and evidence-based decisions regarding the compliance of the provisions of the FCRA, 2010.
• Its dashboard will be integrated with the bank accounts of the FCRA-registered entities through the Public Financial Management System for updation of transactional data on a real-time basis.

Foundation laid for India’s First Advanced Forensic Lab in Chandigarh dedicated to women related cases

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi  laid the foundation stone of an Advanced DNA Forensic Laboratory “’Sakhi Suraksha” at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory campus in Chandigarh with the aim to reduce the backlog of cases needing advanced forensic analysis.

• The state-of-the-art lab, built at a cost of Rs 99.76 crore from the Nirbhaya Fund, will assist in investigation and prosecution of crimes including those committed against women and children.
• It will contribute in addressing the gap in forensic DNA analysis of pending sexual assault cases in the country.

National Sports University Ordinance, 2018 

The National Sports University Ordinance, 2018 has come into force as the President of India has given his assent to the Union Cabinet’s decision to promulgate the said Ordinance.

• The Union Cabinet, had on May 23, approved an ordinance to set up the country’s first national sports university in Imphal, Manipur.
• National Sports University Ordinance, 2018 (“the Ordinance”) will be on the lines of the National Sports University Bill, 2017, introduced in Lok Sabha on 10.08.2017.
• The first of its kind, it will be a specialised University to promote sports education in the areas of sports sciences, sports technology, sports management and sports coaching besides functioning as the national training centre for select sports disciplines by adopting the best international practices,

Centre approves construction of 1.5 lakh houses for urban poor under PMAY

The Centre has approved construction of 1.5 lakh houses for urban poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

• The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry announced that latest approval entails an investment of Rs. 7,227 crore with central assistance of Rs. 2,209 crore.
• With the latest approval for construction of affordable houses, the cumulative figure under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has reached 47.52 lakh houses.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

US Pacific Command Renamed As Indo-Pacific Command

The United States has renamed its strategically important Pacific Command (PACOM) to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in a move to signal India’s importance to the US military.

• Henceforth, the storied US Pacific Command, or PACOM, which was formed after World War II, will be known as the US Indo-Pacific Command.
• Earlier, the Donald Trump administration renamed Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific to count India as a key partner in its strategic planning.

BUSINESS/FINANCE

New Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018 launched by the Income Tax Department 

The Income tax Department has launched a new reward scheme titled Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018 to have people’s participation in the Income Tax Department’s efforts to unearth black money and to reduce tax evasion.

• Under the Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018, a person can get reward up to Rs. 50 lakh for giving specific information about substantial evasion of tax on income or assets in India which are actionable under the Income-tax Act, 1961.
• Besides, Rs. 1 crore for giving specific information about benami transactions and properties as well as proceeds from such properties which are actionable under Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, as amended by Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016.
• Giving information about stashed black money can fetch individuals up to Rs 5 crore,
• Foreigners will also be eligible for such reward. Identity of the persons giving information will not be disclosed and strict confidentiality shall be maintained. The scheme comes into effect from June 1.
• The reward scheme is aimed at encouraging people to give information about benami transactions and properties as well as income earned on such properties by such hidden investors and beneficial owners.

MoUs/AGREEMENTS

India Signs Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in Nursing with Singapore 

India has signed the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in Nursing with Singapore. This is the first MRA being signed by India with any of our FTA partners.

• Under the agreement, Singapore has agreed to expand coverage of Indian nursing institutions by recognising seven nursing institutions in the MRA.
• The agreement paves way for Indian healthcare service providers to have access to international market. Besides, it also opens the path for India to enter into similar mutual recognition arrangements with other countries.

India, Singapore exchange eight key agreements

While on his final leg of 3 nation visit, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong signed 8 agreements which covered areas as wide as military cooperation and connectivity.

The agreements were signed in the following fields:

1) Naval cooperation
2) Economic co-operation
3) Fintech
4) Cybersecurity
5) Nursing
6) Combating Narcotics smuggling & Human Trafficking
7) Personnel Management and Public Administration
8) MoU between the NITI Aayog and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) on Cooperation in the Field of Planning

TECHNOLOGY

Facebook to offer digital literacy programme for women

Social networking giant Facebook has announced a partnership with National Commission for Women, under which it has launched a Digital Literacy Program for women.

• This programme will run in collaboration with the Cyber Peace Foundation, and attempts to conduct training across local languages to ensure safe use of the internet.
• The one-year pilot of Facebook’s digital literacy program will be held in Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Manipur, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Sikkim, and Tamil Nadu.
• The year long training aims to train 60,000 women in universities through interactive sessions will provide training on safe and responsible use of the internet, social media and email and will enable trainees to differentiate between credible and questionable information.

IMD launches new ensemble prediction systems to improve weather forecast

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has launched two very high resolution (12 km grid scale) state-of-the-art global  Ensemble Prediction Systems (EPS) to provide probabilistic weather forecasts up to the next 10 days.

• These new systems, according to IMD, shall improve upon deterministic forecasts that are prone to high margins of error. The EPS involves generation of multiple forecasts using slightly varying initial conditions.
• The EPS will enhance the weather information being provided by the current models by quantifying the uncertainties in the weather forecasts and generate probabilistic forecasts.

APPOINTMENTS

Lt Gen Devraj Anbu Assumes Charge as VCOAS 

Lt General Devraj Anbu has assumed charge as Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS). He succeeds Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand who completed his tenure on May 31, 2018

• Lt Gen Anbu was commander of the Udhampur-based Northern Command before being appointed to the crucial post.
• He was commissioned into 14 Sikh Light Infantry on June 7, 1980.

Pedro Sanchez replaces Mariano Rajoy as Spain’s new prime minister 

Pedro Sanchez took over as Spain’s Prime Minister after outgoing leader Mariano Rajoy lost a parliamentary confidence vote triggered by a long-running corruption trial involving members of his centre-right party.

• Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) head Sanchez becomes Spain’s seventh Prime Minister since its return to democracy in the late 1970s following the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
• Sanchez won no-confidence motion against Rajoy with 180 votes in favour, 169 against and 1 abstention.

AWARDS

PM Modi gives Padma Shri award to former Singaporean diplomat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the Padma Shri award, India’s fourth highest civilian awards, to former Singaporean diplomat Tommy Koh.

• Koh was among 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) receipts of the prestigious award this year.

SPORTS

FIFA lifts suspension on Guatemala

FIFA lifted a suspension imposed on Guatemala Football Association 18 months ago over its failure to comply with anti-corruption rules.

• The suspension prevented Guatemalan teams from participating in international competitions such as the Gold Cup, the Central American Games and the CONCACAF Champions League.
• FIFA sanctioned Guatemala in October 2016 after it failed to authorize the normalization committee after an international corruption scandal that rocked world football.

Click here to read Current Affairs in English

Click here to read Current Affairs in Hindi