Latest Current Affairs – June 02 & 03 2018

1. Nuclear-capable Agni 5 missile successfully test-fired

India successfully test-fired the indigenously developed and nuclear-capable Long Range Ballistic Missile Agni 5 on Sunday. This was the sixth trial of the surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 5,000 km. Agni 5 is the most advanced missile with new technologies in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead, and engine, Defence Research and Development Organisation officials said.

2. Engineering professor appointed as the brand ambassador of MP’s Corporation

After a video of him dancing to a Govinda song went viral on social media, engineering professor Sanjeev Shrivastava was on Saturday appointed as the brand ambassador of Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha Municipal Corporation. Earlier, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan praised Shrivastava for his enthusiasm and said, “Believe it or not, there’s something special in Madhya Pradesh’s water.”

3. IKEA to enter India with first physical store in Hyderabad

Swedish furniture giant IKEA will open its first store in India in Hyderabad this July. There will be 1,000 products at prices below ₹200. In February, Ikea had opened a ₹100-crore distribution centre spread over 2.3 lakh square feet in Pune.

4. India’s 1st national sports university to be made in Manipur

President Ram Nath Kovind gave his approval for setting up India’s first-ever national sports university, in Manipur’s capital Imphal. The Manipur government has made available around 326 acres of land for the university. The university will teach sports sciences, sports management, sports technology, and sports coaching, besides acting as a national training centre for several sports.

5. Japan’s passport named world’s most powerful, India 76th

The Japanese passport has been named the most powerful passport in the world, granting visa-free access to 189 countries. The Indian passport secured the 76th rank in the index with its holders getting visa-free access to 59 countries. The Henley and Partners, a citizenship and planning firm, analyses 199 different passports across 227 destinations to list the rankings annually.

6. US, Cuba to permanently restore postal services

US and Cuba will permanently restore postal services after running a pilot program for two years. The restoration would allow delivering posts through direct flights between Cuba and the US. Direct mail service between the former Cold War adversaries was suspended in 1963 following which mails flowed between them through countries including Canada and Mexico.

7. Spain’s direct rule on Catalonia ends as new govt sworn in

Spain’s Catalonia region sworn in a new government, ending a seven-month direct rule by the central government. This came on the day Pedro Sanchez was sworn in as the new Spanish PM after Mariano Rajoy lost a confidence vote in the Parliament. Rajoy had imposed direct rule over Catalonia last year after the region held an independence referendum.

8. Saudi Arabia establishes Ministry of Culture

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued a royal order establishing a Ministry of Culture, separating it from the Information Ministry. King Salman also reshuffled key ministerial posts, including the Ministry of Labour and Social Development and appointed deputies in the ministries of interior, telecommunications among others. This comes amid attempts to modernise the conservative kingdom.

9. World’s first artificial iris approved in the US

US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first prosthetic iris that can be implanted to treat patients with missing or damaged iris (coloured part of the eye). Over 70% of the 389 patients in clinical trials had reported decreased light sensitivity and glare while side effects included dislocation and the need for additional surgery for device repositioning or replacement.

10. Dendrobium Narendra Modi, orchid named after PM in S’pore

An orchid has been named as ‘Dendrobium Narendra Modi’ as a special gesture for PM Modi during his visit to Singapore on Saturday. The strong and robust tropical orchid can produce upright inflorescence up to 38 cm long with 14-20 well-arranged flowers, the government officials tweeted. PM Modi visited Singapore as part of his three-nation tour.

11. PM Modi unveils Mahatma Gandhi’s plaque in Singapore

PM Narendra Modi, along with Singapore’s former premier Goh Chok Tong, unveiled a plaque dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi at Clifford Pier in the city-state, where his ashes were immersed. A rendition of Gandhi ji’s favourite bhajan ‘Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye’ was also sung on the occasion. “Bapu’s message reverberates globally,” PM Modi tweeted after unveiling the plaque.

12. Indian Navy evacuates 38 Indians stranded on Yemen’s Socotra island

The Indian Navy evacuated 38 stranded Indians from Socotra island in Yemen where they got stuck after a cyclone hit the area 10 days ago, forcing India to launch an operation to rescue them. All are reported to be safe.

The Navy evacuated the Indians as part of operation ‘NISTAR’ carried out off the coast of Socotra and embarked them at Indian Naval ship INS Sunayna to bring them back to India. A severe cyclonic strom Mekenu crossed the Yemeni Island of Socotra on May 24, leaving 38 Indians stranded on the island with limited food and water.

13. Asia’s first 13 ‘Blue Flag’ beaches to be developed in India

Environment-friendly, clean and equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists, 13 Indian beaches will soon get the Blue Flag certification. These beaches of Odisha, Maharashtra and other coastal states will be the first in not just India, but in Asia, to get the Blue Flag certification. 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.

Blue Flag Beach:

• The Blue Flag beach standards were established by Copenhagen-based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) in 1985.
• The Blue Flag programme, which requires 33 standards in four areas to be met to make beaches environment-friendly, first started from Paris.
• Within the next two years, almost all beaches in Europe were accorded the Blue Flag certification. This campaign spread outside Europe, to South Africa, in 2001.

14. Gopabandhu Sambadika Swasthya Bima Yojana: Odisha’s Health Insurance Scheme for Journalists

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched “Gopabandhu Sambadika Swasthya Bima Yojana” for working journalists. The health insurance scheme for working journalists will be implemented with effect from June 1, 2018. In the first phase, as many as 3,233 working journalists from across the state will get health insurance coverage up to Rs 2 lakh. At least five members of a journalist’s family would be covered under the scheme.

15. Ensemble Prediction Systems (EPS): IMD’s new forecast model

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has launched a new 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 Met Department has a new model of weather forecasting. It is considered the best available model after the one used in Europe. Accurate forecasts will help farmers prevent damage to crops and aid administration in taking preventive measures before the onset of harsh weather patterns.

16. Central Government forms Cauvery Water Management Authority

The centre has constituted the Cauvery Water Management Authority in compliance with a Supreme Court order to address the water dispute involving the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

A notification by the Water Resources Ministry said the authority will be headed by a chairman and it will have two whole time and as many part time members. While the whole time members will be appointed by the centre, the other two will be nominated by it.

Besides this, the four states will nominate one representative each as additional part time members of the committee. The secretary of the authority shall also be appointed by the centre.

17. World Bicycle Day – June 03

June 03rd of 2018 is the first official World Bicycle Day to encourage a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation. A bicycle serves as a tool for development and as a means not just of transportation but also of access to education, healthcare and sport.

The UN says the synergy between the bicycle and the user fosters creativity and social engagement and gives the user an immediate awareness of the local environment. It also calls the bicycle a symbol of sustainable transportation and conveys a positive message to foster sustainable consumption and production, and something that has a positive impact on climate.