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Current Affairs – June 4, 2018

S.No Topic Page Number

1 Important Days 2

2 World News 3 - 4

3 National News 5 - 7

4 State News 8

5 Banking & Economy 9

6 Sports 10

7 Appointments & Resignation 11 - 12

8 Science & Technology 13

9 Obtiuaries 14

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Important Days

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

On 4 June 2018, International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression was

observed all over the world.

On 19 August 1982, the UN General Assembly declared 4 June as the International Day

of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.

This day is observed to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world

who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse.

The six most common violations faced by children are: use of children in war, killing,

sexual violence, abduction, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian

access.

29th Anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre Observed

On 4 June 2018, the 29th Anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre was observed.

Over 10,000 activists gathered in Hong Kong to commemorate the 29th anniversary of

the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing.

This year’s observance focused on freeing “dissidents imprisoned or under home arrest”

and pushing for greater democracy in mainland China.

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 are also known as the June Fourth Incident in

China. On this day in 1989, students held demonstrations in Beijing.

The protests were forcibly suppressed after Chinese Premier Li Peng declared martial

law. This is referred as the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Troops killed several hundred demonstrators. The number of deaths has been estimated

from 180 to 10,454.

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World News

India among top 5 nations in e-waste generation: ASSOCHAM & NEC

On June 4, 2018, according to a report released by ASSOCHAM and NEC, India is among

the top 5 nations in producing e-waste. This study was taken ahead of World

Environment Day on June 5.

The other countries besides India are: China, US, Japan and Germany.

Out of the total e-waste generated in 2016, only 20% (8.9 MT) has been recycled and

the rest has no records.

Among the states Maharashtra ranks first with 19.8%, Tamil Nadu ranks second with

13%, Uttar Pradesh 10.1%, West Bengal 9.8%, Delhi 9.5%, Karnataka 8.9%, Gujarat 8.8%,

and Madhya Pradesh 7.6%.

The global volume of E-waste would rise to 52.2 million tonnes or 6.8 kg per person on

an average by 2021 from 47.7 MT from 2016 at an annual growth rate of 20%.`

Commerce Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu attends informal gathering of WTO in Paris

On June 4, 2018, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Suresh Prabhu attended an

informal meeting of the commerce ministries in World Trade Organization in Paris.

There were commerce ministers from 28 member states and Director General of WTO

was present.

He stressed the need of political engagement for the trade.

There is a Work Programme in Ecommerce in which India is an active member.

He stressed that working multilaterally with the developing and least developed

countries would help in boosting trader and addressing the challenges faced by WTO.

The Commerce Minister also had meetings with the Australian Minister for Trade,

Tourism and Investment and the EU Trade Commissioner.

Singapore Names Exotic Orchid after PM

An orchid was named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate his visit to

the National Orchid Garden of Singapore.

The orchid, located within the Singapore Botanic Gardens, was named Dendrobrium

Narendra Modi to mark Prime Minister's visit.

It is the only tropical garden to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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PM Modi Unveils Plaque at Singapore's Clifford Pier Paying Tribute to Mahatma Gandhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore's former premier Goh Chok Tong jointly

unveiled a plaque to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at the immersion site of his ashes

at the waterfront Clifford pier.

After Mahatma Gandhi's death in 1948, his ashes were sent to various parts of India and

the world, including Singapore, for immersion.

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National News

Indian beaches to get prestigious Blue Flag certification for being clean & environment-

friendly; first time in Asia

On June 4, 2018, 13 beaches will be given Blue Flag certification for being clean and

environment friendly. This was announced by Project head of SICOM Mr. Arvind

Nautiyal in a five day conference ahead of World Environment Day.

This is to mark the beaches as environment friendly, clean and equipped with amenities

for the tourists.

The 13 beaches are: Chandra Bhaga beach of Odisha (first to get the flag in the lot),

konark coast; Maharashtra’s Chiwla and Bhogave beaches; one beach from Puducherry,

Goa, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Indian beaches are being developed by the Society for Integrated Coastal

Management (SICOM), an environment ministry’s body working for the management of

coastal areas.

These beaches are being developed in accordance with the Blue Flag beach standards

under a Unified Coastal Areas Management Programme.

This project has two main aims- First is to improve the aquatic habitat by cleaning the

growing pollution and garbage in the Indian beaches. Second is to develop ecological

tourism with constant progress and development of tourist facilities.

There are currently no Blue Flag beaches in Asia.

Krishi kalyan Abhiyaan to promote best farming practices and double farmers income

launched in 25 villages

On June 4, 2018, Ministry of Agriculture announced the launch of ‘Krishi Kalyan

Abhiyaan’ from June 1 2018 till july 31 2018.

To help, advise, assist farmers to improve their farming techniques and increase their

income.

This is in line with PM Modi’s vision of doubling the farmers’ income by 2020.

The krishi kalian abhiyaan will take place across 25 villages (with more than 1000

population each )

Aspirational Districts identified by the Ministry of Rural Development with the help of

NITI Aayog.

The overall coordination and implementation in the 25 villages of a district is being done

by Krishi Vigyan Kendra of that district by appointing 111 officers in charge of each

district.

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The various departments associated are: Department of Agriculture, Cooperation &

Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Animal Husbandry Dairying & Fisheries (DAHD&F) and

Department of Agricultural Research & Education (DARE-ICAR).

427 Ganga Praharis to Boost Bio-Diversity conservation to educate, motivate and ensure

protection of aquatic species of river Ganga among 5 states

On June 4, 2018, A volunteer workforce of 427 trained volunteers have been given the

task to boost the biodiversity and raise awareness among the states along the river

Ganga.

To educate, motivate and ensure protection of the biodiversity of aquatic species of

river Ganga.

The group is called ‘Ganga Praharis’.

They will work along the ganga basin spreading across the states of: Uttar Pradesh,

Uttarakhanad, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.

It is a part of a project named ‘Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvination’ of the

Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun sponsored by National Mission of Clean Ganga

(NMCG).

Activities of the Praharis are: Ghat Cleaning, Awareness Campaigns, Shram Daan,

Plantation drives and coordinating with the local self governments. Each Prahari should

work on the model of ‘Each One makes Ten’.

They are linked through apps such as Bhuvan Ganga app, My gov app, Swachhta app.

Three livelihood centres have been established in villages around Varanasi (Rampur,

Tantepur and Dhakka). Ganga Praharis particularly women are being imparted trainings

in these centres.

Around 210 Sensitization programs, village level meetings training and workshops have

been conducted.

State Environment Ministers Conference Inaugurated

On 4 June 2018, the State Environment Ministers Conference in the run-up to World

Environment Day was held in New Delhi.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan

delivered the inaugural address at the conference. He said that, 25, 000 tonnes of plastic

waste is generated every day.

Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma,

Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Erik Solheim,

Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Mr. Sushil Kumar Modi, Secretary, MoEF&CC, Mr. C.K.

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Mishra, Director General, Forest & Special Secretary, MoEF&CC, Mr. Siddhanta Das,

Additional Secretary, MoEF&CC, Mr. A.K Jain, etc. also addressed the gathering.

E.K. JanakiAmmal National awards on taxonomy were also presented on the occasion.

The awards comprises Rs. 5 lakh cash, a scroll and a medallion.

Shri Rajen Gohain flags off Santragachi-Chennai Central Antyodaya Express

On 4 June 2018, Minister of State of Railways, Rajen Gohain flagged off a new

Antyodaya train named 22841/22842 Santragachi-Chennai Central Antyodaya Express

(Weekly) from Kolkata.

The One way distance covered by the train is 1656 km.

India’s forest cover stood at 21.34 per cent in 2015: report

On 4 June 2018, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan released ‘Status of

Environment Report, India 2015’ at the state environment ministers’ conference held in

New Delhi, as per which, India’s forest cover was 21.34 % in 2015.

Forests and tree cover jointly contribute nearly 24.16 % of India’s geographical area.

According to the recent estimate by Forest Survey of India (FSI), in 2015, the forest

cover was 21.34 % of India’s total geographical area. This is an increase of 1.29 % from

20.05 % in 2009.

Mizoram with 89 % has the highest forest cover compared to other states and Union

territories in India.

It is followed by Lakshdweep (84.56 %), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (82 %), Arunachal

Pradesh (80 %).

Assam has the lowest forest cover with 35 % among the listed 15 states and Union

territories (UTs) having over 33 per cent forest cover.

The forest cover of India has increased from 692,027 square kilometres in 2010 to

701,673 square kilometres in 2015.

An overall increase of forest cover in hill states has been witnessed. The northeastern

states contribute for one-fourth of India’s forest cover.

Degraded forest land with canopy density less than 10 % is classified as scrub. The area

under scrub is 41,362 sq km, which is 1.26 % of the total geographical area of India.

Overall decline of 628 sq km in forest cover and an increase of 112 sq km in mangroves

was registered, compared to 2009. Madhya Pradesh has the maximum forest cover of

72,462 sq km in India.

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State News

KSRTC monthly collection hits record Rs 207.35 crore.

KSRTC has set a new record in its monthly collection even amidst crisis. For the first

time, the transport corporation’s monthly earnings crossed Rs 200 crore riding on

efficient service delivery.

The figure of Rs 207.35 during May 2018 was achieved by deploying more buses in

service and posting inspectors for point duty to conduct services strictly according to the

routes.

NMCG undertakes cleanliness drive at Kalindi Kunj Ghat in Delhi

In the run up to the World Environment Day 2018, National Mission for Clean Ganga

(NMCG) in association with Yes Bank organized a cleanliness drive at Kalindi Kunj ghat

on river Yamuna in New Delhi.

The focus during the cleanliness drive remained on freeing the ghat from plastic waste

along with other solid waste.

Punjab’s new industrial policy expected by July 1

Punjab’s new industrial policy, along with operational guidelines, is expected to become

fully functional by July 1.

Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh on Saturday assured all assistance to the industry

in setting up their units in the State. Capt. Amarinder held a second round of informal

consultations with industry members to elicit their views and feedback before finalizing

the operational guidelines of the new industrial policy.

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Banking & Economy

Rs 5400 crore dispersed for Telangana government’s scheme ‘Rythu Bandhu’: RBI

On June 4, 2018, RBI supplied Rs.5400 crore for the implementation of Telengana

Government’s investment program ‘Rythu Bandhu’ launched in May 2018.

Under the scheme the state govt. will give 4000 per hectare for two seasons by cheques.

The Govt. has allotted 12000 crore as the budget in the scheme.

The amount of total Rs.5400 crore was given to the banks and the State Financial

Department.

A total of 59 lakh cheques has been dispatched by the banks headed by SBI.

For the current season total requirement for the scheme is Rs.5700 crore.

Govt planning another SBI-like 4 bank mega merger

On June 4, 2018, after the success of SBI merger, the government is planning another

big merger of 4 banks: Bank of Baroda, Central Bank, IDBI bank, Oriental Bank.

These four banks has a combined loss of Rs. 21,646.38 crore in the financial year end of

March 31.

The Government is planning to merge and create 4-5 global sized lenders like SBI.

This will create India’s second largest bank after SBI having combined asset of Rs 16.58

trillion .

The share of bad loan has increased. The total quantum of bad loans – loans where

corporate borrowers are not repaying their dues to banks- has crossed Rs 10 lakh crore.

This includes the Rs 8.9 lakh crore share of government owned banks.

In other banking news, under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, seven top lenders

including SBI, ICICI Bank and IDBI Bank are said to be in the process of selling

outstanding loans totaling a little less than Rs 28,000 crore.

HDFC Bank recognized for best practices in payment security

HDFC Bank has once again been recognized with the Champion Security Award at the

14th Visa Asia Pacific Security Summit.

For the second time in a row, the bank has won the award in the India and South Asia

category.

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Sports News

Ariya Jutanugarn is the first player from Thailand,who won the trophy in 73rd US Women’s

Open (Golf)

On 3 June 2018, Ariya Jutanugarn won the 73rd US Women’s Open at the Shoal Creek,

Alabama course, United States.

Ariya Jutanugarn is 22 years old. She hails from Bangkok. She has become the first

player from Thailand to win a US Women’s Open title.

She finished with a one-over 73 and a 72-hole total of 11-under 277. She was followed

by South Korea’s Kim Hyo-joo in the second position.

Spain’s Carlota Ciganda secured third place. American Danielle Kang was in fourth

position.

Rohit Sharma to throw ceremonial ‘firstpitch’ for Major League Baseball club Seattle Mariners

Rohit Sharma is the first Indian cricketer to be given this honour. He will throw the

ceremonial first pitch at Safeco Field, home ground of Seattle Mariners.

The baseball league in America has a historic ritual inviting a guest of honor to throw

out a ceremonial first pitch to mark the start of the game.

Kagiso Rabada Named South Africa’s Cricketer of the Year

Kagiso Rabada, world’s number one Test bowler, was named South Africa’s Cricketer of

the Year.

Rabada received the award at the end of a year that not only saw him remain as a

consistent match winner for the South Africa team but was also subject of a disciplinary

Hearing after he was found guilty of misconduct during Australia’s tour of South Africa.

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Appointments & Resignation

Vijay Mahajan appointed Secretary, CEO of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation & Director of Rajiv

Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies

On June 4, 2018, Mr. Vijay Mahajan has been selected as the Secretary and CEO of Rajiv

Gandhi Foundation (RGF) and the Director of Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary

Studies (RGICS).

He is a social entrepreneur and the co-founder of NGO PRADAN which encourages the

young entrepreneurs to work for the betterment of livelihoods of the poor in the

country and the Basix Social Enterprise Group that helps 3 million poor households with

microfinance.

He has worked on the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)

, the Rangarajan Committee and Raghuram Rajan Committee earlier.

Govt Appoints IDBI Bank MD Mukesh Kumar Jain as fourth RBI Deputy Governor

On June 4, 2018, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IDBI Bank Mr. Mukesh Kumar Jain

has been appointed as fourth RBI Deputy Governor for a 3 year term.

He was CEO of IDBI since March 2017 and previously he was CEO of Chennai based

Indian Bank.

He will be replacing SS Mundra whose tenure ended in July 2017.

As per RBI Act , there are 4 deputy governors : 2 from within the bank , a commercial

banker and an economist.

iv. The other current Deputy governors are : i. Shri B. P. Kanungo , ii. Dr. Viral V. Acharya

, iii. Shri N.S. Vishwanathan.

Madagascar prime minister announces resignation

On 4 June 2018, Madagascar’s Prime Minister Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana

announced his resignation.

Madagascar has been witnessing violent protests since 21 April 2018. The protests

initially opposed the new laws the opposition claimed to bar their candidates to take

part in the upcoming elections.

The Constitutional Court has ordered Madagascar President Rajaonarimampianina to

form a government of national unity with a consensus prime minister.

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As per this, the current government had to resign and the president was ordered to

name a new prime minister by 12 June 2018. New Prime Minister has not yet been

named.

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Science & Technology

NASA’s mini-satellites successfully steer towards Mars

NASA has said that, the world’s first mini-satellites to enter deep space, which were

designed to monitor NASA’s Insight Mars lander, have successfully oriented towards

Mars.

In the last week, two CubeSats named MarCO-A and MarCO-B fired their propulsion

systems to guide themselves toward Mars.

This process is called a trajectory correction manoeuvre. It enabled the spacecraft to

refine its path to Mars after launch.

MarCO-A and MarCO-B successfully completed this manoeuvre. These two CubeSats

comprise the Mars Cube One (MarCO) mission.

They were launched on 5 May 2018 along with the Insight lander. They were designed

to follow InSight on the way to Mars.

They are aimed to send back data about Insight as it enters Mars’ atmosphere and tries

to land.

The MarCOs was not intended to collect science data. They are a test of miniaturised

communication and navigation technology.

MarCO-A and B successfully finished a set of communications tests in the past two

weeks. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory built both MarCO-A and B and leads the

mission.

MarCO-A corrected its course to Mars smoothly compared to MarCO-B. MarCO-B faced

certain issues.

3 Indian Naval Ships to participate in Malabar Exercise 2018

The Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri, Shakti and Kamorta of the Eastern Fleet would be

participating in the 22nd edition of Malabar Exercise, off Guam, US from June 7 to 16,

2018.

As per a government release, the three Indian Naval Ships are scheduled to reach Guam

on June 7 to take part in the Harbour Phase of the exercise. It is for the first time the

Malabar Exercise is being conducted at/ off Guam.

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Obituaries

Former Footballer Timothy Pereira Passes Away

Timothy Pereira, former football international who represented Tata FC, died after a

prolonged illness. Pereira was 75.

He played for the country in 1967-68. Pereira also played hockey and represented

Catholic Gymkhana in the local league.