Current Affairs June 2023

• 233 people lost their lives and more than 900 people were injured after a painful train accident in Balasore, Odisha on the evening of 2nd June.
• Following the incident, railway authorities have regulated several trains at various stations, some have been canceled and some have been diverted.
• The incident took place at 7 pm on 2nd June when the Shalimar-Howrah Coromandel Express overturned after hitting a goods train at Bahnaga station. Minutes later, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast train also derailed at the same spot.
• Rescue and relief work is going on at the accident site. Rescue teams from Odisha and West Bengal including Defense Force, National Disaster Response Force and Odisha Disaster Response Force are engaged in relief operations.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that Rs 10 lakh each will be given to the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh each to the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 each to those with minor injuries.

Qns : Which trains were involved in the accident in Odisha’s Balasore district on 2nd June 2023?

(A) Howrah-Chennai Express and Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani
(B) Delhi-Kolkata Duronto Express and Chennai-Bangalore Shatabdi
(C) Guwahati-Mumbai Garib Rath and Kolkata-Patna Jan Shatabdi
(D) Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express

Ans : (D) Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express

• Shri Bidyut Bihari Swain, IAS took the oath of office and secrecy as a member of UPSC on 1st June. Union Public Service Commission Chairman Dr. Manoj Soni administered him the oath of office and secrecy.
• Shri Bidyut Bihari Swain joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1988 in Gujarat Cadre. Between 1989 and 2018, Mr. Swain held various positions in the Government of Gujarat.
• He held the positions of Chief Executive Officer of Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board, Secretary of Primary Education, Commissioner of Industries, Vice-Chancellor, Managing Director of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation and Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat.
• He holds an MA degree in Political Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and a Masters in Public Policy and Management from The Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands.
• He is a collector of autographed books and contemporary Indian art.

Qns : Who took oath of office and secrecy as a member of UPSC?
(A) Rajesh Kumar Anand
(B) Dr. Manoj Soni
(C) Shri Bidyut Bihari Swain
(D) None of these
Ans : (C) Shri Bidyut Bihari Swain

• The Cabinet on 31 May approved the setting up of Regional Office of Universal Postal Union, UPU at New Delhi. Its objective is to enter into an agreement with the UPU and initiate the development cooperation and technical assistance activities of the UPU in the region.
• The ratification enables India to play an active role in multilateral organizations in the postal sector with emphasis on South-South and triangular cooperation. India will provide a field project expert, staff and office set up for the regional office of UPU.
• Projects on capacity building and training, improvement in efficiency and quality of postal services, enhancement of postal technology, e-commerce and trade promotion etc. will be formulated and implemented by this office in coordination with UPU.
• This initiative will help in expanding India’s diplomatic footprint and strengthen ties with other countries especially in the Asia-Pacific region and enhance India’s presence in global postal fora.

Qns : What is the full form of UPU?
(A) Universal Postal Union
(B) United Postal Union
(C) Universal Primary Services
(D) Universal Products Union
Ans : (A) Universal Postal Union