Daily Current Affairs, 21st June 2018

1) International Yoga Day: 21 June

•The 4th International Yoga Day is being celebrated across the globe on 21st of June. In India Prime Minister Narendra Modi led thousands of people in performing yoga asanas, in the main event organised at Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The theme for Yoga Day 2018 is "Yoga for Harmony and Peace".

•In 2015, United Nations General Assembly unanimously announced 21st June as the International day for yoga to raise awareness about the benefits of practising yoga. The resolution was co-sponsored in the General Assembly by 177 nations, the highest ever number of co-sponsors for any UNGA resolution of such nature. 

2) World Music Day: 21 June

•The World Music Day is celebrated across the world on 21 June. The day is also known as 'Fete de la Musique' after a music festival that began in France in 1982. This Day was first celebrated on 21st June 1982.

3) President 3-Nation Visit: Observed Yoga Day In Suriname, Signed Agreements

•President Ram Nath Kovind reached Suriname capital Paramaribo on the second leg of his three-nation tour to Greece, Suriname and Cuba. He was received at the Paramaribo airport by Suriname President Desire Delano Bouterse. Mr Kovind was given a Guard of Honour. 

•President Ram Nath Kovind observed the Yoga day in Suriname along with his counterpart Desire Delano Bouterse. This will be the first time that heads of two countries will together participate in the International Yoga day. Later on, the two sides agreed to expand the bilateral agenda, especially in areas of economic relations, cultural cooperation and development partnership.

•Further, India will assist Suriname to establish a Centre of Excellence in Information Technology. An MoU was signed in this regard, along with four others in the field of elections, diplomatic academies partnership, employment for the spouse of diplomats of the two countries and archives. The President also addressed the National Assembly of Suriname, thereby becoming the first foreign Head of State to address the Assembly.

4) Surat To Receive ‘City Award’ Under India Smart Cities Award 2018

•Under ‘India Smart Cities Award' 2018, Surat has been awarded for showcasing "great momentum" in the implementation of projects under the Smart Cities Mission, according to the Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry. Bhopal and Ahmedabad were selected in the ‘Innovative Idea' category for their "transformative approach towards sustainable integrated development".

•Joint winners in ‘Innovative Idea' category were Bhopal for its Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) and Ahmedabad for Safe and Secure Ahmedabad (SASA) Project. 

Other Awards under the different category are-

•Under ‘Social Aspects' category- NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council) and Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) bagged the award for implementation of ‘smart classrooms' project,

•Under ‘urban environment' category- Bhopal, Pune and Coimbatore bagged the award for public bike-sharing project.

5) World’s 1st International Centre For Humanitarian Forensics Launched In Gujarat

•The world's first of its kind and state-of-the-art International Centre for ‘Humanitarian Forensics’ (ICHF) was launched at the Gujarat Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

•The centre is a joint venture of the regional delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in India, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives and also Gujarat Forensic Science University. The main aim of the Centre would be to provide service to the nation and to the entire world when the need arises.

6) Vishwas Mandalik And Yoga Institute In Mumbai Recipients Of PM Award

•Vishwas Mandalik from Nasik and the Yoga Institute in Mumbai have been selected as recipients of the Prime Minister’s award for outstanding contribution for promotion and development of yoga for the year 2018. The selection was done from among 186 nominations received under different categories.

•Vishwas Mandalik acquired knowledge of Patanjali and Hatha Yoga, Bhagwad Gita and Upanishad by study and research of ancient scriptures. In 1978, he set up the first branch of Yoga Vidya Dham. The Yoga Institute,established in 1918 by Yogendraji, completed its 100 years serving the society. The winners would be felicitated with a trophy, certificate and a cash award of 25 lakh rupees each.