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.
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