Current Affairs - June 2, 2018 Current Affairs

Foundation of Sakhi Suraksha Advanced DNA Forensic Laboratory was laid in the campus of Central Forensic Science Lab (CFSL), Chandigarh. It is India's first advanced forensic lab dedicated for crimes related to women for timely deliver justice. The advanced lab in par with international standards will contribute to address gap in forensic DNA analysis of pending sexual assault cases in the country. The lab has been set up as model forensic lab and will be replicated in other parts of the country.

India has improved its ranking in the world childhood index but stays at a poor 113th position in the list of 175 countries indexed by global child rights group, Save the Children. The report, titled "End of Childhood", commends India's achievements in reducing the rate of child marriages. Nutrition, infant mortality and child labour remained issues of grave concern in India.

Kailash Satyarhi dedicated the award to children. He gave the cash prize of Rs 1 crore to the Surakshit Bachpan fund, set up by the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Fund. The Surakshit Bachpan fund offers legal and medical assistance to child victims of sexual abuse. The award is instituted by Shree Ramkrishna Knowledge Foundaton (SRKKF). It is led by Govind Dholakia. The award consists of a trophy and prize money of Rs 1 crore.

The Ministry of Railways organized a one day workshop called Mission Raftar. It aimed at brainstorming ideas about speed of freight trains and passenger trains. It also aimed at deriving solutions to various problems related to punctuality , rolling stock, traffic, elimination of unmanned railway crossings. The demand for coal has risen as a result of less imports so there has been an increase in coal loading for power plants and Coal India Limited has been giving enough supply for the purpose. The workshop aims to address the future needs of the Indian railways. Prioritizing passenger safety has been important as well.

PM Modi is in Singapore on the last leg of his 3 nation tour, talks between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong led to the signing of 8 agreements between the two sides which covered areas as wide as military cooperation and connectivity. They reviewed bilateral economic ties and agreed to build on defence cooperation.

Kendrick Lamar received the Pulitzer Prize in music for his album "Damn". Lamar is the first rapper in history to be given the award. Previous recipients included Bob Dylan, Hank Williams and Duke Ellington. Lamar had received this award at Columbia University.

India successfully performed the first test its new surface-to-air missile with nozzle less booster powered by Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology, from launching complex-III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off Odisha coast. The missile has not been given a formal name yet. It has been indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology was developed by India in collaboration with Russia. The missile flew in its intended trajectory at a speed of Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound). It performed as expected and perfectly validated the new indigenous technology. All radars, telemetry and electro-optical systems deployed along the coast tracked and monitored the health parameters of the missile system. The data generated during the test are analysed for future missions.

The name of the app is ePDS (electronic public distribution system ) The beneficiaries will get the ration card in the digital form in the app and can use them for transactions in the ration shops. The best quality of rice, wheat has been purchased from the government agencies and has saved Rs. 22 crore in 5 months. By year end the savings will be Rs. 100 crore. The HP government has started Himachal Grihni Suvidha Yojna which will provide 1 lakh women with gas cylinders and stoves free of cost. In the first stage it will be given to 33600 women.

Gopabandhu Sambadika Swasthya Bima Yojana is a new Health Insurance Scheme for the journalists launched by the state government in Odisha. This scheme provides Rs. 2 Lakh per annum health insurance cover to all working journalists of the state. Gopabandhu Sambadika Swasthya Bima Yojana has come into effect from June 1, 2018 and will initially cover around 3200 journalists and their family members from various media groups. The insurance coverage will be applicable for cashless treatment in government and private hospitals.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) launched an Online Analytical Tool to facilitate closer monitoring of flow and utilisation of foreign contributions received by various organisations registered or permitted under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. The web-based tool will help to effectively monitor hundreds of thousands of transactions undertaken by such organisations and help stakeholders in Government to better regulate acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions. It enables decision-makers in various Government Departments to scrutinise source of foreign funds and their actual use in India. It will give them capacity to take evidence-based and data-driven decisions regarding compliance of provisions of FCRA, 2010.

Tata Motors (India's largest automobile company by revenues) signed a MoU with the State Government of Maharashtra for deployment of 1000 Electric Vehicles (EV) across its range of passenger and commercial vehicles in the State. The company also partnered Tata group company, Tata Power Ltd to set up of EV Charging Stations in the State. The MoU boosts the Maharashtra Electric Vehicle Policy 2018 in accelerating the adoption of EVs in Maharashtra.

HDFC Bank has 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. The Award is a mark of excellence reflecting leadership in risk management and payment security performance.

This was done by amending the Haryana Legislative Assembly ( Salary, Allowances and Pension Members ) Act, 1975. This amendments were done in many other state legislatures like : Delhi, Jharkhand , Kerela , Karnataka , Rajasthan. The tenure of head of department in Haryana was made to a maximum of three years. Some officials will be given extensions beyond their retirement age especially for departments pertaining to law and order, regulatory work, work of administrative importance, infrastructure development and basic public service.

Giuseppe Conte was sworn in as prime minister of Italy's new populist government. Conte, an academic and political novice, will head a government of ministers from the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the far-right League Party. The 53-year-old was sworn in alongside his cabinet, which will see M5S leader Luigi Di Maio and League chief Matteo Salvini in key ministerial posts.