June

9,
2018
TRADE WAR
In June 2018, the European Commission announced imposition of tariffs as high as 25% on
imports worth $3.3 billion from the U.S.
Comment:

 Europe is not alone in waging a battle against imports from the U.S.; China, Mexico and Canada have
joined hands in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 25% tax on steel and a
10% tax on aluminium imports from the EU, Mexico and Canada.
 Workers in America’s manufacturing sector have played a key role in Mr. Trump’s electoral success,
so his zealousness to be seen to be protecting their interests is unsurprising.
 However, consumers in America and the rest of the world are likely to suffer as their respective
governments make it costlier for them to access foreign goods and services.
 The World Bank has warned that the effect of the increased use of tariffs to regulate international
trade could be similar to the significant drop in global trade after the financial crisis a decade ago.
 As former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan aptly put it, the ongoing trade war is a
“lose-lose situation” for the warring parties.

DEOCHA-PACHAMI COAL BLOCK

In June 2018, centre handed over the Deocha-Pachami coal mines to the West Bengal
government.
About:

 Deocha-Pachami coal mines are located in Birbhum district of West Bengal.

 The coal mines, with an estimated reserve of 2,102 million tonnes, is the “second largest coal mine”
in the world.

SHELL COMPANIES
In an effort to intensify the campaign against black money, the Union Government in June
2018, identified over 2.25 lakh more companies to be de-registered. With this, a total of
over 5 lakh companies will be legally de-recognised.
About:

 The term “Shell Company” is undefined in the Companies Act, 2013.

 But in public parlance these are seen as bogus entities that do not produce anything but are used as
a channel to evade tax.

BORDER BATTALIONS (J&K)

In June 2018, Union Home Minister announced the raising of two exclusive border
battalions of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) State police.

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About:

 He also said five battalions of the Indian Reserve Police and two women’s battalions of the State
police would be raised with 60% reservation for border residents.
 The move comes in the background of Pakistan shelling the International Border (IB) heavily in
recent times.

MANAGEMENT OF SHRINES
In June 2018, the Supreme Court directed the Union Government to form an independent
committee to review whether the “management practices” of shrines across the country
are visitor-friendly.
About:

 It also ordered a judicial enquiry into allegations of rampant fleecing and exploitation of worshippers
by staffers and sevaks at the Puri Jagannath Temple in Odisha.
 The order is based on a PIL filed by Mrinalini Padhi, who highlighted the difficulties faced by visitors
to Shri Jagannath Temple and their harassment by the sevaks.

JAGUAR
In June 2018, two Jaguar aircrafts met with an accident.

CURIOSITY ROVER

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In June 2018, Curiosity rover found complex organic matter buried in ancient sediments
that formed a vast lake bed on Mars more than 3bn years ago. This discovery is the most
compelling evidence till now that that life existed on Mars.
About:

 Curiosity is a car-sized rover designed to explore Gale Crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science
Laboratory mission (MSL).
 Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral in 2011 and landed on mars in 2012. The rover is still
operational.

MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD TROPHY

In June 2018, Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports approved the revised guidelines for
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy.
This has been done to rationalize the selection of top performing university in sports for
award of MAKA Trophy.
About:

 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy was instituted in 1956- 57 as a running trophy by the Ministry of
Education, Govt. of India.
 This running trophy is awarded by the President of India each year to a University which has all
round best performance in sports at Inter-University, National and International competitions.

Revised Guidelines:

 Who wil invite the application? Applications from the universities, which were hitherto used to be
invited and scrutinized by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), will now be invited and
scrutinized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports/Sports Authority of India.
 Criteria:
o Performances of the students of the universities in Olympic Games/ Paralympic Games,
World Cup/World Championships, Khelo India University Games etc. has been included in
the criteria for calculation of marks for selection of universities for MAKA Trophy.
o Tournaments which are held more than once a year will not be considered for computation
of marks.
 Cash prize: The amount of award money for the overall all winner university has been enhanced
from Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 15 lakhs.

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