Current Affairs Weekly Updates – May Week II

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AWARDS AND HONOURS

 NAME OF THE AWARD AWARD WINNER KEY POINTS TO NOTE
Woodrow Wilson Award Chanda Kochhar Award for Global Corporate Citizenship
Honorary life membership of MCC V.V.S. Laxman Former India batsman
2017 Young Scientist medal Vikram Vishal He is IIT Bombay Asst Professor

APPOINTMENTS

NAME DEPT/FIELD              
Sanjay Mitra Defence Secretary
Justice (Retd.) Mukul Mudgal Chairman of FIFA Governance Committee
Emmanuel Macron French President
Edouard Philippe French Prime Minister
Amitabh Bachchan WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Hepatitis
Vinay Mohan Kwatra India’s ambassador to France
India President of UN-Habitat
Ms Leena Nair Secretary of Tribal Affairs
Mallikarjun Kharge Chairperson of parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
Taranjeet Singh Country Director for Twitter, India
Pooja Kapur Ambassador of India to Bulgaria
Venu Rajamony Ambassador of India to Netherlands
Moon Jae-in President of South Korea

 INDIAN AFFAIRS

  • The 112-feet tall bust of ‘Adiyogi’ Lord Shiva at the Isha Yoga Foundation has been declared the world’s largest bust by the Guinness Book of World Records.
  • Nagpur is set to become the country’s first city to get a fleet of electric cabs.
  • Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda has launched new Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, PCV, for Pneumonia at Lal Bahadur Shastri Medical College Hospital in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.
  • Kerala and Tamil Nadu have maintained their positions as the states with the best governance in the country, according to the 2017 Public Affairs Index (PAI).
  • Ahmedabad in Gujarat will host biggest ever International Yoga Day event on the 21st of June announced by Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev.
  • Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is formally launched at a function held in Dibrugarh by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Union State Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.
  • Ahmedabad in Gujarat will host biggest ever International Yoga Day event on the 21st of June announced by Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev.
  • Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is formally launched at a function held in Dibrugarh by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Union State Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.
  • The Central government has been declared that plans which are underway to roll out Jan Aushadhi stores in 1,000 railway stations across India.
  • Hyderabad-based graphic designer Manikanta Annapragada, the first person to obtain a driving license in the ‘hearing impaired’ category designed the logo.
  • The Income Tax Department is offering a new way of linking Aadhaar numbers with permanent account numbers (PAN) on its e-filing website, in a move aimed at increasing compliance.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the integrated case management system of the Supreme Court in the presence of the Chief Justice of India.
  • Bengaluru has been named the world’s most affordable tech city in the new Savills Tech Cities Index.
  • Hyperloop India has tied up with a city-based Workbench Projects to build the prototype pod that will feature in the global design competition for the super fast transportation system using magnetic levitation technology.
  • Dispur will make CT scans, X-rays and blood tests free in all government hospitals in Assam except those in the medical colleges.
  • IRCTC has offered delivery of rail tickets allowing passengers to make payment through any payment mode, including cash.
  • Hundreds of UK-based Indians turned out to cheer as cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar welcomed an Indian naval frigate as it docked on the river Thames in London.

BANKING AND FINANCE

  • Asia’s rapidly ageing population means the region is shifting from being the biggest contributor to the global workforce to subtracting hundreds of millions of people from it, according to the International Monetary Fund.
  • Finance Ministry has set up an Investor Facilitation Platform that will provide information about stocks of public sector units.
  • Banking on the Government’s drive to promote cash-less economy, cashback portal Cashkaro.com has tied up with YES Bank to launch card-linked offers as part of its loyalty programme for both offline and online shoppers.
  • Markets regulator SEBI has allowed investors to buy mutual fund schemes for up to Rs 50,000 through digital wallets, making it easier for them — especially the young generation — to purchase these instruments.
  • Mobile network operator Airtel and taxi aggregator app Ola have tied up to offer a range of exciting digital services to customers by leveraging the strengths of their respective portfolios.
  • The United States and China have agreed to take action by mid-July to increase access for U.S. financial firms and expand trade in beef and chicken among other steps as part of Washington’s drive to cut its trade deficit with Beijing.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

  • A top US think-tank has launched a knowledge web-portal which tracks the policy and regulatory environments of major Indian states.
  • The United States has approved the sale of anti-chemical and anti-nuclear suits to India for a cost of $75 million — approximately Rs 480 crore.
  • India & UK have agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on bilateral cooperation in urban transport policy planning, technology transfer and institutional organization of transport.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

  • Alibaba Group-backed Paytm has signed a non-exclusive term sheet to acquire rival FreeCharge, the digital payments platform owned and operated by beleaguered online marketplace Snapdeal, in what is expected to be an all-cash deal.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

  • India has test fired a surface-to-air missile ‘Spyder’ from a test range in Odisha as part of missile launch practice of a series of tests of the short-range quick reaction.
  • India’s indigenous Light Combat Aircraft has successfully demonstrated an Air-to-Air Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile firing capability by releasing Derby Air-to-Air BVR missile in RADAR guided mode.
  • Indian Naval Ships Karwar and Kakinada were decommissioned with Navy chief admiral Sunil Lanba being the chief guest for the ceremony
  • Natco Pharma has said it has launched a generic version of pomalidomide capsules, used in treatment of a type of blood cancer, in India.
  • Scientists, led by an Indian-origin researcher, have developed artificial bone tissues that could provide new bone marrow for patients needing transplants and make the procedure much safer.
  • Astronomers have tracked two huge lava waves rolling around a volcanic crater the size of Wales on one of Jupiter’s many moons.

SPORTS

WINNER TITLE SPORT/ VENUE
Bajranj Punia Asian Wrestling Championship First gold medal for India
Ramudri Rao World Para Athletics Grand Prix Jaipur
Arjun Maini Grand Prix 3 race Barcelona
Rafael Nadal 5th Madrid Masters title Tennis
Lewis Hamilton Spanish Grand Prix
  •  Jhulan Goswami, India’s fast bowler is now the leading wicket-taker in Women’s ODIs, going past Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick record of 180 wickets.
  • Odisha capital is gearing up for hosting the 22nd Asian Athletics Championship at the Kalinga Stadium scheduled in July, the endangered Olive Ridley turtle will enhance the attraction of the mega event.

OBITUARY

NAME OF THE PERSON FIELD
Subrahmanyan Ramaswamy Politician; Former Puducherry CM

OBSERVED DAYS IN FEBRUARY

DATE OBSERVED DAY OBSERVED Theme / Purpose
May 08 World Red Cross day Less Known Red Cross Stories
May 10 World Migratory Bird Day Their Future is our Future
May 11 National Technology Day Technology for inclusive and sustainable growth
May 12 International Nurses Day Nursing: A voice to lead – Achieving the sustainable development goals
May 15 International Family Day Families, education and well-being

 

See Aslo- Current Affairs Weekly Updates – May Week I


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