GK & Current Affairs Quiz: June 04, 2018

Notes:
The BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting has started in the South African city of Johannesburg on June 4, 2018. The meeting is expected to lay the foundation for 2018 annual summit of the grouping which will also be held in Johannesburg. The BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is leading the Indian delegation. Beside this, Mrs Swaraj will also chair a meeting of Foreign Ministers of IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa), another bloc working to deepen coordination among the three countries on major global issues. She will also attend a series of events marking the 125th anniversary of the historic incident where a young Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of a train compartment in Pietermaritzburg railway station in 1893. The incident proved to be a turning point in Mahatma Gandhi’s fight against racial discrimination in South Africa.

Notes:
The 49th Conference of Governors and Lieutenant Governors has started at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on June 4, 2018. The 2-day conference was commenced with the inaugural address by the President Ram Nath Kovind. The important agendas listed for conference are such as Clean India mission, internal security, higher education and skill development. The conference will discuss important thematic issues in various sessions. Governors will also discuss ideas on how to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Notes:
Pedro Sanchez of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) has been officially sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Spain on June 1 after the success of a motion of no confidence against former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Being an atheist, Mr Sanchez became the first Spanish prime minister to take the oath to protect the Spanish constitution without a bible or crucifix since the country transferred to democracy in 1977. He plans to see out the remaining two years of the parliamentary term.

Notes:
In Egypt, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been sworn-in for a second four-year term in office as the country faces major economic and security challenges. Sisi won 97% of valid votes in the March presidential election.

Notes:
Maneka Gandhi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD), has laid the foundation stone of India’s first advanced DNA forensic laboratory “Sakhi Suraksha” in the campus of Central Forensic Science Lab of Chandigarh as part efforts to reduce the backlog of cases needing advanced forensic analysis. It will be built at a cost of Rs 99.76 crore from the Nirbhaya Fund. The state-of-the-art lab will assist in investigation and prosecution of crimes including those committed against women and children. It will contribute to address the gap in forensic DNA analysis of pending sexual assault cases in the country. Forensic science plays a vital role in the criminal justice delivery system by providing investigators with scientifically based information through the analysis of physical evidence.

Notes:
On June 1, the Union Ministry of Culture has launched a new scheme called ‘Seva Bhoj Yojna’ with a total outlay of Rs. 325 Crores for Financial Years 2018-19 and 2019-20. The scheme seeks to reimburse the Central Government share of CGST and IGST so as to lessen the financial burden of such Charitable Religious Institutions who provide Food/Prasad/Langar (Community Kitchen)/Bhandara free of cost without any discrimination to Public/Devotees. The Charitable Religious Institutions such as Temples, Gurudwara, Mosque, Church, Dharmik Ashram, Matth, etc. which have been in existence for at least 5 years before applying for financial assistance/grant and who serve free food to at least 5000 people in a month and such institutions covered under Section 10 (23BBA) of the Income Tax Act or Institutions registered as Society under Societies Registration Act ( XXI of 1860) or as a Public Trust under any law for the time being in force of statuary religious bodies constituted under any Act or institutions registered under Section 12AA of Income Tax Act shall be eligible for grant under the scheme.

Notes:
India has been ranked 113th among 175 countries in the “End of Childhood Index 2018”, issued by global child rights group “Save the Children”. The Index which is part of the report titled “The Many Faces of Exclusion” indicated that the child marriages in India have come down to 15.2% from 21.1% in 2017. It is significant to point that the child marriage data assessed does not include data on consensual unions. However, the Index shows that under five mortality rate (deaths per 1000 live births) was 43 which is a cause of concern. Also child stunting (children aged 0-59 months) was 38.4% and rated as high. The Index ranked countries with regards to where childhood is threatened as a result of poor health, malnutrition, exclusion from education, child labour, child marriage, early pregnancy and extreme violence. Singapore and Slovenia are placed at the top sharing the first place in the index and Niger figures at the end of the list at 175.

Notes:
On June 3, the Indian Navy evacuated 38 stranded Indians from Socotra Island in Yemen where they were stranded for nearly 10 days after a severe Cyclonic storm Mekunu hit the area. The Navy evacuated the Indians as part of operation code name ‘NISTAR’, carried out off the coast of Socotra and embarked them at Indian Naval ship INS Sunayna to bring them back to India. The evacuated Indians were immediately provided with medical care, food, water and telephone facilities to call and reassure their families at home. The Island of Socotra is considered the jewel of biodiversity in the Arabian Sea and is recognised as a world natural heritage site by UNESCO in 2008. It is one of the most isolated landforms on Earth that a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. Notable are the dragon’s blood trees that look like flying saucers perched on trunks.

Notes:
India is hosting the 3rd Asia Cup International Bridge Championship 2018 in Goa from June 4 and will see participation from countries including Australia, Bangladesh, China, Japan and Korea. The championship will be contested in five categories namely men, women, mixed, super-mixed and senior. Players from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Singapore and Thailand will be participating in the event. Round robin matches will be played from the June 5-8. Four top teams in each category will progress to the knock-out stage.  Semi-finals will be contested on June 9 and. The finals and play-offs for 3rd place will be played on June 10. The tournament will also have a Match Point pairs contest which is an open event.

Notes:
Timothy Pereira (75), the former international footballer who represented Tata FC, has passed away in Mumbai on June 1, 2018. He played for the country in 1967-68. Pereira also played hockey and represented Catholic Gymkhana in the local league.