Taj Mahal Declaration adopted to ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’

  • The Government of India has pledged to end disposable or single use plastic around the Taj Mahal.
  • It will make up to 500 metres around the monument a plastic-free zone, under the Taj Declaration on beating plastic pollution.
  • The “Taj Declaration” aims at making Agra, which is among world’s top ten most polluted cities, free of plastic.

Humsafar Jodhpur Bandra Express flagged off in Rajasthan

  • Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal flagged off the Humsafar Jodhpur Bandra Express at Bhagat Ki Kothi Railway Station in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
  • The Humsafar Express trains are a completely 3-tier AC sleeper trains, which started operation in December 2016.
  • The new arrangements made in the trains include LED TVs, mobile charging points, CCTVs and Bio Toilets.

India successfully test-fires ‘Agni-5’ missile off Odisha coast

  • India successfully test-fired its nuclear capable Long Range Ballistic Missile, Agni-5, from the Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.
  • The state-of-the-art surface-to-surface Agni 5 is indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
  • Agni 5 has a strike range of 5,000 kilometres and can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one tonne.

India ranks 113th on Childhood Index

  • India’s childhood index has improved from 117th in 2017 to 113th on the list of 175 countries indexed by global child rights group, Save the Children.
  • The group’s report praises India’s achievements in reducing the rate of child marriages.
  • However, nutrition, infant mortality and child labour remained issues of grave concern in India.
  • According to the report, another challenge in India is that of adolescent pregnancy.

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

  • 13 Indian beaches will soon get ‘Blue Flag’ certification, which means they will be environment friendly, clean and equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists.
  • Beaches in Odisha, Maharashtra and other coastal states will be the first in Asia to get ‘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.
  • A beach has to be plastic-free and be equipped with a waste management system to qualify for the Blue Flag standards.

Income Tax Department launches new benami transactions informants reward scheme

  • The Income Tax Department has issued a new reward scheme called the “Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018”.
  • The scheme aims for people’s participation in the IT Department’s efforts to uncover black money and to reduce tax evasion.
  • The scheme encourages people to come forward with information about benami transactions and properties.

RBI kicks off Financial Literacy Week and gives theme of consumer protection

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has chosen customer protection as the theme for the Financial Literacy Week.
  • The Financial Literacy Week begins on June 4th and ends on June 8th.
  • It will focus on creating awareness among customers of banks about financial products and services, good financial practices and going digital.
  • One message being spread through the programme is that if unauthorised digital transactions are informed to the bank within 3 days, the account holder has zero liability.