June 3rd Week 2020 Current Affairs Online Test

 World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 every year by the United Nations, to encourage awareness and environmental protection.  The theme of World Environment 2020 is ‘Celebrating biodiversity’. The day will be hosted in Colombia in partnership with Germany. It is reported that about one million species facing extinction, as of now. In India, Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry releases series of advisories during a programme ‘Saving Biodiversity through Effective Waste Management’.

 Veteran bureaucrat Rajeev Topno, a 1996 batch IAS officer who had been serving as the private secretary to the Prime Minister, has been appointed as senior advisor to the Executive Director (ED), World Bank. As per the Personnel Ministry order issued, five other officers have been appointed to various posts abroad.  This includes the appointment of Ravi Kota as Minister (Economic) at the Indian embassy in Washington; Lekhan Thakkar as Counsellor (Economic) at the Indian Embassy in Beijing; H Atheli, as Advisor to the ED of the ADB among others.

 The Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar launched the ‘Nagar Van’ programme to increase forest cover in urban areas. During the virtual celebration of World Environment Day 2020, the programme was launched with 200 corporations and cities across India.  The Minister urged the people to actively participate in the programme to increase the tree cover in their areas. This year, the government’s target for tree plantation is 145 crores.

 India has bagged the hosting rights of the Asian Football Confederation 2022 Women’s Asian Cup for the first time since 1979. This tournament will feature 12 teams, as compared to the previous slot of eight teams. India will qualify to participate in the tournament directly as hosts. This event will also serve as the qualification tournament for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

 India has recently launched the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) campaign on ‘Prevention of Human&Animal Mortality on Highways’.  Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has launched the campaign through video conference on the occasion of World Environment Day. The Minister also highlighted that about 5 lakh road incidents are witnessed in India every year.  

 Skeletal remains of an animal have been recently unearthed at Manalur near Madurai, under the sixth phase of excavation work at Keeladi site, undertaken by the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology.  Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Mr. Edappadi K Palaniswami had started the 6th phase of excavation work in February at Keeladi, Kondhagai, Agaram and Manalur near Madurai.  During the excavation, a variety of materials including weaving, animal husbandry and water management were recovered. The materials were found to be belonging to the 5th century of the Tamil culture.

 The International Day for the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is observed every year on June 5. The purpose of this day is to sensitise about the threats posed by unregulated fishing activities to the fisheries resources.  The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared June 5 as the International Day for the fight against IUU fishing in November 2017. The first such day was celebrated in the year 2018. The Agreement on Port State Measures was brought into force on the same day.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after 20,000 tonnes of diesel oil to spill into the Ambarnaya River. The 60 km long river is present in Norilsk, which is called as the nickel capital of Russia. The spill of the diesel oil has turned the surface of the river into crimson red colour.  The oil is alleged to have come as a result of a fuel tank collapse at a power plant near the city.

 The Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, R K Singh launched the ‘#iCommit’ campaign, on the occasion of World Environment Day.  The initiative aims to bring together all stake holders including Govts, Corporates, several organisations, Think Tanks and Individuals and create a robust and sustainable energy system in the future. The campaign is led by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of Ministry of Power.

 UN celebrates six separate language days to raise awareness of the history, culture and development of each of its six official languages – English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French.  June 6 is celebrated as the UN Russian Language Day, which is also the birthday of the Great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The poet is considered as the father of modern Russian literature. Some of his popular literary works include novel titled “Eugene Onegin” and his poem titled “The Bronze Horseman”

 The state Government of Chhattisgarh has recently launched the ‘Spandan’ Campaign to reduce incidents of suicide and fratricide involving police personnel. Instructions were issued to senior officers to strictly follow the guidelines regarding counselling and medical treatment for depressed officers / staff by psychiatrists or psychologists in the district headquarters.  Yoga classes are also to be arranged. As many as 50 police personnel committed suicide in Chhattisgarh over the past two years.

 Article 1 of the Indian constitution reads “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”. Recently a petition was filed at the Supreme Court, which sought to remove the name of ‘India’ from the first article.  The Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde said that Bharat and India are both names given in the Constitution and that India is already called ‘Bharat’ in the Constitution. However, the court said that the writ petition should be treated as a representation and to be sent to the Centre for final decision.

 World Food Safety Day has officially celebrated on 7th June 2020 to strengthen efforts to ensure that the food we eat is safe. The theme of this year’s inaugural WFSD ‘Food safety, everyone’s Business’.  The day is celebrated to promote global food safety awareness and to bring together countries, civil society and private firms to take required action. World Health Organisation (WHO) is collaborated with the Food and Agriculture Organization leads the member states to celebrate Food Safety Day.

 As per the latest notification from the Union Women and Child Development Ministry, a ten member task force has been set up to examine matters regarding health and nutrition of women and children.  Ms Jaya Jaitly has been named the Chairperson of the task force, which includes the Secretaries of various related Departments as ex–officio members. It will examine matters regarding age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering MMR and IMR, improvement of nutritional levels and other health & nutritional issues.

 Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR has partnered with Atal Innovation Mission, AIM to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in various sectors.  Under the Letter of Intent signed, the two institutions would support world class start–ups and promote innovation and research in the MSME industry through CSIR incubators and ARISE initiative of AIM. They will also work together on new models of innovation like CSIR Innovation parks.

 Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous society under Ministry of Electronics and IT, commemorated its 29th Foundation Day on June 5.  STPI was established on June 5, 1991 and it has constantly contributed for the growth of Indian Information technology and electronics manufacturing industry. The exports of the STPI registered unites stands at Rs. 4,21,103 crore during 2019–20,

 The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy has recently launched the Andhra Pradesh Environment Management Corporation, to mark the World Environment Day celebrations on June 5.  The Corporation would perform several prescribed tasks including collecting, segregating & scientifically disposing off industrial waste. It will also ensure if the industries follow the waste management protocol mandated by the state.

 Hyderabad International Airport received the highest Platinum Recognition in the Airports Council International Asia–Pacific Green Airports Recognition 2020. The airport owned and operated by the GMR group, has won the recognition in the 15–35 million passengers per annum category

 Securities Exchange Board of India has reconstituted its Commodity derivatives advisory committee. As per the recent notification, the 17 member committee would be chaired by retired IAS officer Ashok Dalwani.  The committee examines issues related to contract designs and new products in the segment and advises on matters related to delivery mechanism and warehouses. The panel includes members from BSE, NSE, NCDEX NITI Aayog and NABARD among others.

 New Delhi based National Gallery of Modern Art, a subordinate office under the Union Ministry of Culture conducts the annual art programme named ‘Naimisha’. Recently, It has announced that it would conduct the digital version of the programme ‘Naimisha – 2020 Summer Art Program’ from 2020 8th June to 3rd July. Workshops will be organised to help participants learn from veteran practising artists virtually.

 Former World rapid champion from Russia, Daniil Dubov has clinched the USD 150,000 Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge chess title. The 24 year old player won his compatriot Sergey Karjakin and Chinese No. 1 Ding Liren in last two matches.  He gained victory over the American Grand Master Hikaru Nakamura in the final match 3–2. Dubov became the grandmaster at his 14th year and became a World rapid champion in the year 2018.

 World Oceans Day is celebrated across the world on June 8, every year. The day is observed to encourage people to celebrate oceans and take steps to protect ocean health. The theme of World Oceans Day 2020 is “Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean”.  Canada proposed the concept for World Oceans Day in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In December 2008, the United Nations designated June 8 as World Oceans Day for the oceans.

 As per the recent announcement from the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand, the city of Gairsain in Chamoli district has been declared as the summer capital of Uttarakhand.  The Governor of Uttarakhand Baby Rani Maurya also gave her assent to the decision. Gairsain is located about 270 Km from the existing capital of Dehradun. It is expected that the declaration of summer capital in the region will accelerate development of the hilly areas.

 World Brain Tumour Day is observed on 8 June every year, across the world.  The objective of the day is to raise awareness and educate general public about brain tumour. The World Brain Tumour Day was initially designated by Leipzig based non–profit organisation German Brain Tumour Association in the year 2000. Later it was acknowledged across the world. The observance also highlights the need of more research in the field.

 The Indian Naval Ship Kesari reached Port Victoria in Seychelles to provide COVID–19 related essential medicines, as a part of Mission Sagar.  Under Mission Sagar, the government of India is extending assistance to friendly foreign countries in fighting COVID–19 pandemic. The programme is being implemented in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs and other Government agencies. This is in line with the ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’ vision proposed by the Government earlier.

 As per the recent notification of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, a one cm green sticker, providing registration details will be affixed in all BS 6 compliant motor vehicles. The order is expected to come force from October 1, 2020.  Last year, it was announced that all motor vehicles will be fitted with tamper–proof, high security registration plates (HSRP). This green strip will be fixed at the top in the HSRP. This is in addition to the light blue sticker for petrol or CNG and orange sticker for diesel vehicle.

 The Indian Air Force has designed, developed and inducted a transportation system named Airborne Rescue Pod for Isolated Transportation (ARPIT).  ARPIT will be utilised to evacuate critical patients with infectious diseases including COVID–19 from high altitude and remote places. The cost of this indigenously designed system is Rs 60000, as compared to the imported air evacuation system priced at several lakhs. As of now, the Indian Air Force is inducting 7 ARPITS.

 The 12th edition of the biennial Environment Performance Index (EPI Index 2020) has been released by the Yale University. In the index that measured the environmental performance of 180 countries, India secured 168th rank with a score of 27.6 out of 100.  Last year, the country scored 30.57 and was placed at 177th rank. Denmark was placed at the 1st place, followed by Luxembourg and Switzerland. The United States of America was placed at 24th rank.

 Indian poet cum writer Javed Akhtar has become the first Indian to receive the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award for 2020. The award is named after the English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.  It is provided to individuals from the fields of science, education or entertainment, who publicly proclaim the values of secularism, rationalism and upholds scientific truth. The 1st edition of the award was awarded in the year 2003.

 The ratio of central taxes to GDP fell further in the fiscal year 2019–20 to 9.88 %, mostly due to the decline in collection from customs duties and corporation tax.  This measure is reported to be a ten–year low, as the ratio stood at 10.97 % in FY19 and at 11.22 % in FY18. Due to the stagnation in economic activity, this indicator is expected to decline further. The gross tax revenue also fell 3.39 % in FY20, with a shortfall of Rs 1.5 trillion as compared to the revised Budget target for the year.

 The Government has allowed filing of NIL GST monthly return in FORM GSTR–3B through SMS.  The taxpayers with NIL liability are not required to log on to the GST Portal. This step is expected to make the tax compliance easy for over 22 lakh registered taxpayers who had to otherwise log into their account and file returns every month. India ranks 115 out of around 190 countries in ease of paying taxes

 As per the statement of the Indian Railways, the best ever safety record has been created during April 2019 – March 2020. There has been no fatality of any railway passenger in any train accident during this period.  This feat has been achieved for the first time since 1853, when the Indian Railway system was introduced in the country. About 1274 Manned Level Crossings have been eliminated in 2019–20, which is also the highest ever. More than 1000 bridges were rehabilitated and rails were renewed.

 Allocation of Rs 101,500 crore has been made under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the current financial year 2020–2021. This is the highest ever provision of funds under the programme.  Out of the allocated fund, a sum of Rs. 31,493 crore has already been released in 2020–2021, which is more than 50% of the budget estimate of the current financial year.

 The Ramon Magsaysay awards, regarded as Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize, have been cancelled this year due to the COVID–19 pandemic.  This is only the third time the annual awards were cancelled in the past six decades. Earlier, the awards were cancelled due to a financial crisis in 1970 and a terrible earthquake that hit the Philippines in 1990. The awards are provided by a Manila based foundation and named after the third president of the Republic of the Philippines after World War II.

 Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) has bagged one of world’s largest solar contract from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). Under the contract, AGEL is to develop 8 GW of solar projects.  It has also committed to establish 2 GW of additional solar cell and module manufacturing capacity at a cost of USD 6 billion (₹45,000 crore). With this contract, AGEL will have 15 GW capacity under operation, construction or under contract.

 The state cabinet of Odisha has recently adopted ‘Bande Utklala Janani’ as the state anthem. This song was written by poet Lakshmikanata Mohapatra and it was first sung at the Utkal Sammilani’s conference at Balasore in 1912.  It was a long standing demand of people of the state to accord state anthem status to the song. After the official recording is released, the song will be sung at all public programmes.

 National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has digitally signed a MoU with Rotary India to telecast e–learning content for school children. The Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank was present during the event. The learning content is to be telecasted in all NCERT TV channels for class 1–12.  Under the ‘Vidya Daan 2.0’ programme, Rotary International will provide the e–content in Hindi language to NCERT. Material for special children and Adult Literacy Mission will also be provided.

 The Baghjan oil well of Oil India Limited located in Tinsukia district of upper Assam has been leaking for more than 14 days. Recently, the oil well caught massive fire. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has reached the place.  The Baghjan well is adjacent to the rich biodiversity filled Dibru–Saikhowa National Park of Assam.

 Bangladesh has recently launched an online network to facilitate plasma exchange named ‘Shohojodha’. This enables an exchange between the recovered patients of covid–19 and those undergoing treatment for covid–19.  However, the plasma therapy for treating Coronavirus patients in Bangladesh is under trial process and is awaiting final approval from the government.

 The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is the most massive project of Ethiopia at a cost of USD 4.6 billion. The dam is located on the Blue Nile and its construction began in the year 2011.  Recently the Nile basin countries Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan resumed negotiations. Egypt fears that the project will constrict its water supply while Ethiopia desires to become a major power exporter. Sudan has urged the two countries for negotiations.

 As per the recent report from the State Forest department, the population of Asiatic lions in Gujarat’s Gir forest has increased by almost 29%. The exercise also found that the area inhabited by lions has increased by 36%.  The increase of Asiatic lion population is possible due to the participation of local community. The Environment Ministry said that a land project being undertaken will further help in the conservation of Lions.

 The Finance Ministry announced that the public sector banks have disbursed Rs 12,200.65 crore till June 9, under the Rs 3 lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector.  It also announced that Tamil Nadu has topped in the in the disbursements to MSMEs under ECLGS, with the total disbursement of Rs 1,727 Cr, out of the cumulative sanction of Rs 2,637 crore from banks. It was followed by Uttar Pradesh, with disbursement of Rs 1,225 crore.

 The United States Department of State releases the annual ‘International Religious Freedom Report’, in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act, 1998. The report submitted to the US Congress, describes the status of religious freedom in every country.  It was in news because the report raised concerns over the religious freedom of India. The report also mentioned about the revocation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir and the parliamentary approval of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

 Spain has recently granted professional status to women’s football. As per the Spanish federation, the top two women’s football divisions in Spain have gained professional status.  This decision is expected to promote the development of these competitions which were considered amateur football, until now. The sports council of the country also accepted the change in status for the competitions and it will also be valid for men’s and women’s futsal competitions of the country.

 The cabinet of Kerala government has given its approval for the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Thiruvananthapuram–Kasaragod Semi High–Speed Rail corridor. Called as the ‘Silver Line’ project, it aims to cover about 529.45 km in four hours.  The implementing agency Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (K–rail) is a joint venture of the Indian Railways and the Kerala Government. The Cabinet changed the DPR, to skip Mahe of Puducherry in the route. The cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 63,941 crore. It is expected to be completed in five years

 The Coral Triangle Day is held every June 9 across the world. Coral Triangle is the ocean spread across 6 countries in the Asia–Pacific region: Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Timor Leste, also called the “CT6” countries.  The day is celebrated by all countries which are benefitted by the rich marine resources of the Coral Triangle. It is also one of the 3 great ecological complexes in our planet, along with the Congo Basin and the Amazon Rainforest

 The President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Masatsugu Asakawa has launched a high–level panel of leading experts to help Southeast Asian economies tackle COVID–19 pandemic. The panel is moderated by the ADB Vice–President Ahmed M. Saeed.  Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India Raghuram Rajan features in the list among the experts of finance, health and economy. The panel will focus on structural reforms, innovation in domestic resource mobilization among others.

 A Central Public Sector Enterprise under Department of Fertilizers, National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) has tied up with Industrial Training Institutes located near to its plants to train youth in several trades. The partnership is expected to upskill the youth and to enhance their employability in heavy industries.  NFL becomes first CPSE to start this initiative in Punjab, by signing a MoU with ITI, Nangal. The students will be trained under Dual System of Training Scheme where they will learn both theoretical skills and on the job training in Nangal plant.

 Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has partnered with the Common Service Centre (CSC) to enable the pensioners submit Digital Jeevan Pramaan (Life Certificate). As per the statement of the Labour Ministry, around 65 lakh pensioners can submit their life certificate through over 3.65 lakh CSCs.  Every year, the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) pensioners need to submit their life certificates to continue to draw pension, as the life certificate will remain valid for one year from date of submission.

 Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the leading and only National Chamber of Commerce that was founded in 1925. It is headquartered at Kolkata.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently delivered the inaugural address of the 95th annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) through video conferencing. During his address, the PM also praised the chamber for contributing to the development of industries in East India and the North East.