Current Affairs Notes on 4/6/2018...

1. 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.

2.Dr. Dinesh Gupta has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of the Geological Survey of India (GSI).

3.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. 

4.India received the first-ever cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Russia as New Delhi diversifies import basket to meet its vast energy needs. State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd will bring the shipload of LNG from Gazprom, a Russian supplier, at Petronet LNG Ltd's import terminal in Dahej, Gujarat.

5.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.

6.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. Players from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Singapore and Thailand will be participating in the event.

7.Gujarat has launched a dedicated ambulance service for infants to prevent the death of newborns due to lack of emergency medical facilities in health centres. This service is under the 'Neonatal ambulance service project for inter-hospital transfer'. It would consist of 10 well equipped ambulances across the state. 

8.India successfully carried out the flight test of Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) propulsion based missile, according to the Defence Ministry. The technology demonstrator flight test was conducted from the Launch Centre-III of Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha.

9.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.

10.India's first superfast train, Deccan Queen express from Mumbai to Pune has completed 88 years on June 1, 2018. Also known as 'Queen of Deccan' the train started on June 1, 1930. This was the first deluxe train introduced on the railway to serve 2 important cities of the region. 

11.The United States has renamed its oldest and largest military command, US Pacific Command, or PACOM, to Indo-Pacific Command, according to the US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

12.Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge), Shripad Yesso Naik will inaugurate the 3rd National Health Editors Conference on Yoga at Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY) in New Delhi. 

13.The government has announced the launch of 'Krishi Kalyan Abhiyaan' under which farmers in select villages will be given assistance and advice on ways to improve farming techniques and raise their income.

14.The union government has launched a new scheme called SevaBhojYojna to benefit charitable religious institutions offering free food to the public. The institutions include temples, gurudwara, mosque, church, dharmik ashram, dargah, math and monasteries that fulfill the government’s criteria list.

15.IDBI CEO M K Jain has been appointed as the fourth deputy governor of RBI for a three-year term. He would be succeeding SS Mundra, who retired in July last year. He was previously heading the Chennai-based Indian Bank.