Current Affairs of 3 June 2015

1. ‘khoya-paya’ web portal to track missing children launched
With 11 children disappearing every hour in the country, the government  launched a web platform for people to directly report, track and upload information on missing children.
The web portal will be launched by the Women and Child Development Ministry. It will serve as a platform for people to not only report a missing child but also track the efforts towards his or her recovery.
The website, www.khoyapaya.gov.in, will answer all queries as to what action is to be taken when a child goes missing.
A joint initiative of the WCD Ministry and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, the website will have three sections - ‘My child is missing’, ‘I have sighted a child’ and ‘Search a missing child’.
The website will also provide links to court orders wherein police have been mandated to register an FIR in the matter of a child gone missing and treat it as either abduction or trafficking unless it is proved otherwise in the investigation.
“There is always a lack of information as to what can be done when a person loses a child. Since police play a very important role, the website will assist them in taking better help of police,” said a ministry official.

2. South Korea and China signed bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
South Korea and China  signed the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Seoul, South Korea. The agreement was signed by the South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng.
The negotiations for the agreement that began in May 2012 formally concluded in November 2014.
Features of Korea-China FTA
• It aims to gradually remove tariffs on more than 90 percent of traded goods between both the countries within 20 years.
• China will remove tariffs on 71 percent of South Korean exports in 10 years and 91 percent in 20 years.
• South Korea will remove tariffs on 79 percent of Chinese imports in 10 years and 92 percent in 20 years.
• Many of South Korea’s major farming and fisheries goods like rice, beef, pork, pepper and squid are excluded from the agreement. This decision taken was taken in the backdrop of protests against the inclusion of these products by the agricultural community of South Korea.
• China excluded or delayed the opening of its relatively less-developed manufacturing segments such as the auto sector and display panel production.
• It would recognize products made in Kaesong Industrial Region (KIR) of North Korea as South Korean products for the purpose of trade between the two countries. However, final modalities for operationalisation of this provision are still underway.

3. Union Ministry of Women and Child Development launched IAP HealthPhone programme
The Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi  launched the IAP HealthPhone programme in New Delhi. The IAP HealthPhone programme is the world’s largest digital mass education programme for addressing the malnutrition in women and children.
This programme was developed by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in partnership with the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, UNICEF and is supported by Vodafone India.
Highlights of the IAP HealthPhone programme
• IAP HealthPhone programme aims to tackle the challenge of malnutrition in mothers and children across India.
• It is a public-partnership initiative that leverages the increasing penetration of mobile phones in the country to educate over 6 million girls and women between 13 and 35 years of age and their families on better health and nutrition practices by 2018.
• The programme will achieve its objectives by widely promoting and distributing four re-edited videos from the Poshan videos in 18 Indian languages. The Poshan videos address issues of the care of pregnant women and children, breastfeeding and the importance of balanced diet.
• Vodafone will enable its customers to view/download the videos free of data charges and on viewing the 4 videos, the user will receive a talk time incentive of 10 rupees.
• Vodafone will send out approximately 300 million text messages to its subscribers every year to promote the viewing of the four videos.
• IAP HealthPhone partners will also equip AWW, ASHAs and ANMs with a HealthPhone microSD card, containing a library of videos, to enable them to share health and nutrition knowledge with women, families and the communities they serve.
• They will partner with social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Google to use their exponentially growing channels to reach more-rural and urban-caregivers.
• This three-year campaign (2015-18) is expected to benefit the health of 60 million children in India born by 2025 and will be transformative for India’s fight against malnutrition.

4. Sepp Blatter resigned as FIFA president amid corruption scandal
Sepp Blatter resigned as President of FIFA  amid the corruption scandal that has engulfed the football’s governing body. Blatter has been serving as president of world soccer governing body FIFA since 1998.
79-year-old Blatter who was re-elected as FIFA president on 29 May 2015 said that soon a special congress would be called to elect his successor. He will exercise his functions as FIFA president until an election is held.
Apart from this, his resignation came within a week after Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials, including two vice presidents, at a hotel in Zurich. The arrests were called out on behalf of US prosecutors who accuse the seven and eight other suspects of involvement in 150 million dollars of bribe.

5. Pawan Munjal appointed as the CMD of Hero MotoCorp Ltd
Pawan Munjal was  appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) & CEO of Hero MotoCorp Ltd (HMCL). He succeeded his father Brijmohan Lall Munjal, who resigned on 1 June 2015.
However, Brijmohan Lall will continue to be the guide and mentor of the company in the form of Chairman Emeritus. Brijmohan Lall had been the Chairman of Hero MotoCorp since its inception in 1984.

6. 92-year-old Harriette Thompson became oldest woman to complete a marathon
Harriette Thompson, a 92 year 65 days old cancer survivor,  became the oldest woman to finish a marathon.  She achieved this fete at San Diego’s Rock 'n' Roll Marathon of 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) by completing the race in 7 hours, 24 minutes, 36 seconds. This was her 16th Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and by far, the hardest.
With this, Harriette Thompson of Charlotte, North Carolina got her name inscribed into the record books. The previous record holder was Gladys Burrill. She made the record at the age of 92 years and 19 days at the 2010 Honolulu Marathon.
According to Runner's World, Thompson has been running the San Diego marathon for 16 years and has raised more than 100000 dollar for cancer research in that time.

7. Maharashtra Cabinet approved a Composite Renewable Energy Policy
Maharashtra Cabinet approved a Composite Renewable Energy Policy worth 4156.43 crore rupees which would help attract investment of 1 lakh crore rupees. The policy was approved at a cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The policy aims at achieving 14400 MW of installed capacity from the present 6700 MW over a period of five years, that is, till 2020.
In terms of percentage, the policy targets to increase the share of renewable energy in total electricity production in the state to 15 percent from present 9 percent.
Out of the total 14400 MW installed capacity 7500 MW would come from solar energy, 5000 MW from wind energy, 1000 MW from bagasse based co-generation, 400 MW from small hydro, 200 MW from industrial waste and 300 MW from agriculture waste-based products. 
Apart from this, in order to promote installation of new renewable projects, the state government also decided to simplify the consent norms and reduce the number of clearances. 

8. Edward Snowden awarded Freedom of Expression prize in Norway  
Ex-security contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden won a prize for “freedom of expression” from Norway and once more received an invitation to withdraw from exile and receive the award in person.
The award was given by the Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression and said that the 31-year-old whistleblower had earned the Bjornson prize named after a Norwegian laureate of literature "for his work protecting privacy and for shining a critical light on US surveillance of its citizens and others."
Snowden, prior to his exile was an analyst for the US national security, now in asylum in Russia since 2013 after leaking information regarding mass surveillance by the US government and its allies.
The US administration has called him a betrayer and blamed him with acting in deadly espionage who endangered many lives by revealing the scope of the NSA spying programme.
1. ‘khoya-paya’ web portal to track missing children launched
With 11 children disappearing every hour in the country, the government  launched a web platform for people to directly report, track and upload information on missing children.
The web portal will be launched by the Women and Child Development Ministry. It will serve as a platform for people to not only report a missing child but also track the efforts towards his or her recovery.
The website, www.khoyapaya.gov.in, will answer all queries as to what action is to be taken when a child goes missing.
A joint initiative of the WCD Ministry and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, the website will have three sections - ‘My child is missing’, ‘I have sighted a child’ and ‘Search a missing child’.
The website will also provide links to court orders wherein police have been mandated to register an FIR in the matter of a child gone missing and treat it as either abduction or trafficking unless it is proved otherwise in the investigation.
“There is always a lack of information as to what can be done when a person loses a child. Since police play a very important role, the website will assist them in taking better help of police,” said a ministry official.

2. South Korea and China signed bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
South Korea and China  signed the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Seoul, South Korea. The agreement was signed by the South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng.
The negotiations for the agreement that began in May 2012 formally concluded in November 2014.
Features of Korea-China FTA
• It aims to gradually remove tariffs on more than 90 percent of traded goods between both the countries within 20 years.
• China will remove tariffs on 71 percent of South Korean exports in 10 years and 91 percent in 20 years.
• South Korea will remove tariffs on 79 percent of Chinese imports in 10 years and 92 percent in 20 years.
• Many of South Korea’s major farming and fisheries goods like rice, beef, pork, pepper and squid are excluded from the agreement. This decision taken was taken in the backdrop of protests against the inclusion of these products by the agricultural community of South Korea.
• China excluded or delayed the opening of its relatively less-developed manufacturing segments such as the auto sector and display panel production.
• It would recognize products made in Kaesong Industrial Region (KIR) of North Korea as South Korean products for the purpose of trade between the two countries. However, final modalities for operationalisation of this provision are still underway.

3. Union Ministry of Women and Child Development launched IAP HealthPhone programme
The Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi  launched the IAP HealthPhone programme in New Delhi. The IAP HealthPhone programme is the world’s largest digital mass education programme for addressing the malnutrition in women and children.
This programme was developed by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in partnership with the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, UNICEF and is supported by Vodafone India.
Highlights of the IAP HealthPhone programme
• IAP HealthPhone programme aims to tackle the challenge of malnutrition in mothers and children across India.
• It is a public-partnership initiative that leverages the increasing penetration of mobile phones in the country to educate over 6 million girls and women between 13 and 35 years of age and their families on better health and nutrition practices by 2018.
• The programme will achieve its objectives by widely promoting and distributing four re-edited videos from the Poshan videos in 18 Indian languages. The Poshan videos address issues of the care of pregnant women and children, breastfeeding and the importance of balanced diet.
• Vodafone will enable its customers to view/download the videos free of data charges and on viewing the 4 videos, the user will receive a talk time incentive of 10 rupees.
• Vodafone will send out approximately 300 million text messages to its subscribers every year to promote the viewing of the four videos.
• IAP HealthPhone partners will also equip AWW, ASHAs and ANMs with a HealthPhone microSD card, containing a library of videos, to enable them to share health and nutrition knowledge with women, families and the communities they serve.
• They will partner with social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Google to use their exponentially growing channels to reach more-rural and urban-caregivers.
• This three-year campaign (2015-18) is expected to benefit the health of 60 million children in India born by 2025 and will be transformative for India’s fight against malnutrition.

4. Sepp Blatter resigned as FIFA president amid corruption scandal
Sepp Blatter resigned as President of FIFA  amid the corruption scandal that has engulfed the football’s governing body. Blatter has been serving as president of world soccer governing body FIFA since 1998.
79-year-old Blatter who was re-elected as FIFA president on 29 May 2015 said that soon a special congress would be called to elect his successor. He will exercise his functions as FIFA president until an election is held.
Apart from this, his resignation came within a week after Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials, including two vice presidents, at a hotel in Zurich. The arrests were called out on behalf of US prosecutors who accuse the seven and eight other suspects of involvement in 150 million dollars of bribe.

5. Pawan Munjal appointed as the CMD of Hero MotoCorp Ltd
Pawan Munjal was  appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) & CEO of Hero MotoCorp Ltd (HMCL). He succeeded his father Brijmohan Lall Munjal, who resigned on 1 June 2015.
However, Brijmohan Lall will continue to be the guide and mentor of the company in the form of Chairman Emeritus. Brijmohan Lall had been the Chairman of Hero MotoCorp since its inception in 1984.

6. 92-year-old Harriette Thompson became oldest woman to complete a marathon
Harriette Thompson, a 92 year 65 days old cancer survivor,  became the oldest woman to finish a marathon.  She achieved this fete at San Diego’s Rock 'n' Roll Marathon of 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) by completing the race in 7 hours, 24 minutes, 36 seconds. This was her 16th Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and by far, the hardest.
With this, Harriette Thompson of Charlotte, North Carolina got her name inscribed into the record books. The previous record holder was Gladys Burrill. She made the record at the age of 92 years and 19 days at the 2010 Honolulu Marathon.
According to Runner's World, Thompson has been running the San Diego marathon for 16 years and has raised more than 100000 dollar for cancer research in that time.

7. Maharashtra Cabinet approved a Composite Renewable Energy Policy
Maharashtra Cabinet approved a Composite Renewable Energy Policy worth 4156.43 crore rupees which would help attract investment of 1 lakh crore rupees. The policy was approved at a cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The policy aims at achieving 14400 MW of installed capacity from the present 6700 MW over a period of five years, that is, till 2020.
In terms of percentage, the policy targets to increase the share of renewable energy in total electricity production in the state to 15 percent from present 9 percent.
Out of the total 14400 MW installed capacity 7500 MW would come from solar energy, 5000 MW from wind energy, 1000 MW from bagasse based co-generation, 400 MW from small hydro, 200 MW from industrial waste and 300 MW from agriculture waste-based products. 
Apart from this, in order to promote installation of new renewable projects, the state government also decided to simplify the consent norms and reduce the number of clearances. 

8. Edward Snowden awarded Freedom of Expression prize in Norway  
Ex-security contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden won a prize for “freedom of expression” from Norway and once more received an invitation to withdraw from exile and receive the award in person.
The award was given by the Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression and said that the 31-year-old whistleblower had earned the Bjornson prize named after a Norwegian laureate of literature "for his work protecting privacy and for shining a critical light on US surveillance of its citizens and others."
Snowden, prior to his exile was an analyst for the US national security, now in asylum in Russia since 2013 after leaking information regarding mass surveillance by the US government and its allies.
The US administration has called him a betrayer and blamed him with acting in deadly espionage who endangered many lives by revealing the scope of the NSA spying programme.

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