Daily Current Affairs for July 3,2018 ( English)

2.       ‘Happiness Curriculum’ which includes meditation, moral values and mental exercises for its school students was launched by the Delhi government. It was launched by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the presence of the Dalai Lama. It involves ‘Happiness’ period of 45 minutes for all students studying in nursery up to class VIII at all Delhi government schools. Each class will begin with 5 minute meditation practice. The curriculum focuses on meditation, moral teachings, and mental exercises, with the aim of turning students into good human being.

3.       Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam decided to adopt an online legal compliance system by introducing ‘Legatrix‘. Legatrix is cloud-based compliance management system to serve as onestop solution for effectively managing organisations legal and regulatory compliances through monitoring control at different levels. This initiative aims to induce greater transparency NRL’s operations and augment its contribution towards Digital India Mission of the Government. With this, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam became first oil public sector undertaking (PSU) in India.

4.        ‘The Flying Daggers’ - Indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas of No 45 Squadron has formally commenced operations from Sulur Air Force Station near Coimbatore. No 45 Squadron has been entrusted with the responsibility of integrating Tejas fighter aircraft in Air Force’s Concept of Operations. It has been involved in training aircrew of fighter aircraft Tejas. It will now undertake operations and maintenance of the indigenous fighter aircraft.

5.        ‘National Workshop on Skill Development for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan)’ organised by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment  was held in New Delhi on July 3, 2018. The workshop was organised with a view to provide a platform to all stakeholders ranging from training partners to the policymakers as well as employers.

6.       The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, comprising A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, ordered all the States and Union territories to not appoint any police officer as acting Director General of Police (DGP) on July 3, 2018. The court also directed all the states to send names of senior police officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for being considered as probable candidates to be appointed as DGPs.

7.       The Rajasthan government has clarified that five castes, including Gujjars, under the most backward classes (MBC), are also entitled to the 21 per cent quota under the OBC category for admission to educational institutions and recruitment in government jobs in the state. The candidates of these five castes of MBC if not selected on the basis of merit in the general category will be considered first under the OBC (21 per cent) and then under the MBC (1 per cent) in admissions and recruitments. The five castes under the most backward class (MBC) include Banjara/Baldia/Labana; Gadia-Lohar/Gadalia; Gujjar/Gurjar; Raika/Rebari and Gadaria (Gaadri), who were initially enlisted in the OBC since 1994.

8.       The Chhattisgarh government will set up a tribal museum in the state's upcoming new capital Naya Raipur with a view to exhibit culture and tradition of scheduled tribes. It will be named after Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh, a freedom fighter from the state who had made a tremendous contribution in the freedom struggle of 1857. A Tribal Culture and Language Academy will also be set up in the state.

9.       Mahi Talat Siddiqui-a Muslim teacher and author has translated the Ramayana into Urdu to spread the message of communal harmony and brotherhood.  It took her two years to complete the work. She hoped more people from the Muslim community would now become aware of the goodness of Ramayana. Talat has written seven books including 'Yadon ke jharokon se', 'Adabi-sangam', 'Gantav ki aor', 'Mukhrit hote shabd' and 'Main bhi hazir tha wahan".

10.   IPS officer Sundari Nanda becomes the first woman DGP of the Union Territory Puducherry. She assumed charge as Puducherry Director General of Police on July 2, 2018.

11.   Punjab state cabinet decided to recommend to the Centre death penalty for drug peddlers and smugglers on July 2, 2018. This move was aimed to act as a deterrent to the heinous crime, which was destroying the lives of youth in Punjab and many other places.

2.     The United Nations has placed Colombia's Chiribiquete national park on its list of world heritage sites. It is the ninth site in Colombia to be given world heritage status. The park, which straddles the southern provinces of Caquetá and Guaviare, is the country's largest and has one of the highest rates of plant diversity in the northern Amazon. 

2.       India has agreed to provide tariff concessions on 3,142 products to Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) members, from July 1, 2018. The tariff concessions are implementation of results of fourth round of negotiations under APTA, which were formally concluded and signed by the ministers of member countries during meeting of APTA Ministerial Council in January, 2017. APTA is an initiative under United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) for trade expansion through exchange of tariff concessions among developing country members of Asia Pacific Region.

2.     International Cricket Council (ICC) will impose a ban of minimum six Tests or 12 ODIs on ball tampering offenders as it has now been upgraded as a Level 3 offence as per it's new code of conduct. The ball tampering incident involving Steve Smith and David Warner has forced ICC to upgrade it as Level 3 offence, which will carry 12 suspension points. This decision was taken at its Annual Conference in Dublin, Ireland on July 2, 2018. 

3.     Major General V D Dogra becomes the first Indian Army officer to complete the Ironman Triathalon event, considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world, in Austria. The Ironman Triathlon comprises three consecutive events 3.8 km swim, 180km cycling and 42.2 km marathon - all completed in a day without a break. The competitors have to complete the events in sequence within 17 hours to earn the title of 'Ironman'. The competition was held in the scenic town of Klagenfurt and it saw participation from over 3000 athletes. Major General V D Dogra completed the full Ironman at Klagenfurt in 14 hours and 21 minutes.