www.gradeup.co Top Current Affairs of the Week (30 May – 05 June 2021) Bashar Al-Assad re-elected as President of Syria • Bashar al-Assad (55 years) has been re-elected as the President of Syria for the fourth consecutive term in a landslide victory by winning 95.1% of the total votes cast. • He will have a term of 7-year • He is serving as the 19th President of Syria since 17 July 2000. • Syria is a country in Western Asia with diverse ethnic and religious groups. • Capital of Syria: Damascus. • Currency of Syria: Syrian pound. Aashritha V Olety becomes India’s First Woman Flight Test Engineer • Indian Air Force (IAF) Officer, Aashritha V Olety become the first woman flight test engineer in the country. • She has graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School • She will be responsible for evaluating aircraft and airborne systems before their induction into the armed forces as a flight test engineer, • She is among 275 graduates who have ever cleared this Flight test course, since the course began in 1973. • She was commissioned as a Flying Officer in the IAF in 2014. Government panel to examine ‘Valuation of Services’ by casinos, gaming • Govt has set up a 7-member panel of state ministers for better valuation of services of casinos, online gaming portal and race courses companies to levy GST. • The panel will be headed by Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. • Other member of the panel: Ajit Pawar, Amit Mitra, Chowna Mein, Mauvin Godinho, Basavaraj Bommai and P Thiagarajan. • It will also examine whether any change is required in the legal provision for better means of valuation of these services. Jagjit Pavadia elected as President of International Narcotics Control • Former Narcotics Commissioner of India, Jagjit Pavadia has been elected as the President of International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) • She is a retired officer of Indian Revenue Service (Customs) and is the 1st Indian to be appointed as the Chief of INCB. • She has served as Narcotics Commissioner of India, Central Bureau of Narcotics from 2006- 2012. • She has been a member of INCB since 2015 • Headquarters of INCB: Vienna, Austria. 1 www.gradeup.co 3 Indian peacekeepers honoured posthumously with UN medal for sacrifice • Three Indian peacekeepers have been chosen to be awarded the prestigious UN medal posthumously for courage and sacrifice in the line of duty, Dag Hammarskjold Medal • They were among 129 military, police and civilian personnel selected from across the globe • They laid down their lives while serving in UN peacekeeping missions in 2020 • Name of the winners: Corporal Yuvraj Singh (UNMISS), Ivan Michael Picardo (UNMISS) and Mulchand Yadav (UN Assistance Mission in Iraq) Government extends tenures of RAW & IB Chief by 1 Year • Govt extended the tenure of Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director Arvinda Kumar and Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) Chief Samant Kumar Goel by a year. • After this extension, they will hold the post till June 30, 2022 • Prior to this, they were having two-year fixed term of officers, which was due to end on June 30, 2021 • Arvinda Kumar: 1984 batch IPS officer from Assam-Meghalaya cadre. • Samant Kumar Goel: 1984 batch IPS officer from Punjab-cadre. Pooja Rani wins her 2nd Asian Boxing Championships gold • Indian boxer Pooja Rani won another gold-medal at Asian Elite Boxing Championships after defeating Mavluda Movlonova (Uzbekistan) in the women's 75kg final by 5-0 in Dubai. • She has also qualified for the Tokyo Olympics • She secured 1st gold medal for India in Asian Championship 2021. • She had won her maiden Asian boxing gold in 2019 in 81kg event. • She had also bagged the bronze in 2015 and silver in 2012 at the Asian Boxing Championships in the middleweight category. TRIFED partners with NITI Aayog to implement Van Dhan initiative • Tribal Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED) has partnered with NITI Aayog to implement Van Dhan Yojana scheme • They will work together to prepare the follow-up-plan for its implementation in each of the 39 Tribal Aspirational Districts • These districts are from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Telangana and Tripura • Special focus: Areas with tribal more than 50% Achinta Sheuli won silver in Junior World Weightlifting Championships 2021 • Indian weightlifter Achinta Sheuli has bagged silver medal in the men’s 73 kg category at Junior World Weightlifting Championships 2021 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan • He lifted a total of 313 kg (141 kg snatch and 172 kg clean and jerk) to finish behind Indonesia’s Rizki Juniansyah, who lifted a world record 349 kg (155 kg snatch and 194 kg clean and jerk) for the gold medal. 2 www.gradeup.co • Jeremy Lalrinnunga of India finished 4th overall in men’s 67 kg category. World No Tobacco Day: 31st May • World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed globally on 31 May every year to inform the public on the dangers of using tobacco and to discourage the use of tobacco in any form • Theme of the 2021 WNTD: Commit to quit • WNTD was created by the member states of World Health Organization (WHO) in 1987 • Tobacco smoke contains toxic chemicals causing damages to the linings of the airways and lungs and suppress the activity of immune cells leading to weakening of immunity. Govt announces scheme to provide pension for dependents of Covid victims • Govt has announced measures for families who have lost the earning member due to Covid. • Family Pension under Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC): o Dependent family members of such persons will get pension equivalent to 90% of average daily wage drawn by worker o Applicability: 24 March 2020 to 24 March 2022. • EPFO-Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI): o Insurance benefits have been enhanced and liberalized. o Maximum insurance: Rs. 7 lakh National & International Appointments B V R Subrahmanyam to be next Commerce Secretary • B V R Subrahmanyam has been appointed as the Commerce Secretary in the Union Commerce Ministry. • He will also serve as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Commerce Ministry. • He will succeed Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan on his retirement in June 2021. • He is currently serving as the Chief Secretary Jammu & Kashmir as officer on special duty in the Department of Commerce. • Minister of Commerce and Industry: Piyush Goyal. Book on Veer Savarkar to hit stands in July, 2021 • Book titled ‘Savarkar: A contested Legacy (1924-1966)’ is all set to hit the stand on July 26, 2021 on the occasion of 138th birth anniversary of the Hindutva ideologue • The book is authored by historian Vikram Sampath’s on the life and works of Veer Savarkar and is the 5th volume of his series on Savarkar • It will be published by Penguin Random House India • The book will cover the story of one of the most contentious political thinkers of the 20th century from 1924 to 1966 PM announces Rs 10 Lakh PM CARES Fund for kids orphaned due to COVID • PM Modi has announced welfare measures for children who lost their parents due to COVID- 19. They are as follows: 3 www.gradeup.co o Fixed Deposit in the name of child: Total corpus of fund will be Rs 10 lakh for each child. Monthly stipend as per the age will be provided o Education: Children under 10 years will be admitted in KVs or in private school. Children between 11-18 years will be given admission in any central govt residential school o Health Insurance scheme will also be given Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated floating jetty at Old Goa • Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has inaugurated 2nd floating jetty at Old Goa on River Mondovi (NW-68) virtually on Goa statehood day. • Panaji and Old Goa will be connected by ferry and cruise services. • It will offer safe, hassle free transportation to the tourists, boosting tourism sector of Goa. • First jetty was inaugurated at Panjim Goa on 21st Feb 2020 • Concrete floating jetties are 1/5th of the price of fixed jetty. • Life of floating jetty is up to 50 years. Ajit Doval commissioned Indian Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel Sajag • National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval has digitally dedicated Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ‘Sajag’ to the nation • Sajag is third in series of five offshore patrol vessels indigenously designed and constructed by Goa Shipyard • The ship is fitted with advanced technology equipment, weapon, and sensors capable to carry twin engine helicopter and 4 high speed boats • ICG will undertake various operations in Indian Ocean Region for maritime interests. ‘Stargazing: The Players in My Life’ book to hit the stand in June 2021 • Cricket all-rounder, commentator and coach, Ravi Shastri is all set make his publishing debut book titled as ‘Stargazing: The Players in My Life’. • The book will be published by HarperCollins India. • It is been co-authored by Ayaz Memon and will be released on June 25, 2021. • Ravi Shastri has written about some 60 extraordinary talents he has met from across the world who have inspired him in the book. Former Danish Prime Minister Poul Schlueter passes away • Former Prime Minister of Denmark, Poul Schlueter (92 years) passed away in Frederiksberg, Denmark • He served as the Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982 to 1993 • He was the 1st member of Conservative People's Party to become Prime Minister, as well as the 1st conservative to hold the office since 1901 • He was a member of the Folketing (Danish parliament) for Conservative People's Party from 1964 to 1994 • He was also Chairman of Conservative People's Party. 4 www.gradeup.co Madhya Pradesh launches ‘Ankur’ scheme to award people for planting trees • Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched a scheme ‘Ankur’ under which citizens will be awarded for planting trees during monsoon • Participants who will join the initiative will be given Pranvayu Award to ensure public participation in programme • Under this, sapling plantation campaign will be carried out • Participants will have to upload a picture while planting the sapling and then upload another photograph after taking care of the sapling for 30 days.