Current Affairs May 5, S.No Topic Page Number

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1 Current Affairs May 5, 2018 S.No Topic Page Number 1 Important Days 2 2 World News National News State News 7 5 Banking & Economy Sports News 10 7 Awards & Honours 11 8 Appointments & Resignation 12 9 Books & Authors Science & Techonology Obituaries 16 1

2 Important Days International Day of the Midwife 2018 International Day of the Midwife was first celebrated May 5th 1991, and has since been observed in over 50 nations around the world. The idea of having a day to recognize and honor midwives came out of the 1987 International Confederation of Midwives conference in the Netherlands. Cartoonists day: 5 May World Cartoonists day is celebrated every year on 5th May. Cartoonists day is best celebrated by picking up a comic you used to know and love, and walking down memory lane on the part it played in you growing up. 2

3 World News Secretary, DEA meets president of ADB, Mr. Takehiko Nakao; attends 12th informal meeting of SAARC finance Ministers On May 5, 2018 Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance met President of Asian Development Bank (ADB), Mr. Takehiko Nakao during a tour to Manila to attend the 51st Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB). He requested him to support India s endeavor and to expand ADB s sovereign and nonsovereign operations in India by providing financial assistance worth $ 4 billion a year. Government of India had approved the proposal of ADB to acquire additional resources through INR bonds in the offshore markets. He also attended the 12th informal meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers and highlighted the ongoing reforms in India.He has highlighted the need for increased private sector operations by ADB in India. Oscars Academy expels Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski have been expelled from the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In Polanski s case, the expulsion comes more than 40 years after he was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl. Pyongyang aligns time zone with Seoul North Korea moved its clock forward 30 minutes, aligning its time zone with South Korea, a move aimed at promoting the two countries reconciliation. North Korea pushed back its standard time by 30 minutes in August 2015, claiming the move was aimed at removing the vestige of Japan s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. India ranked 11th in the AT Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index for 2018 India has slipped three notches to the 11th position in the AT Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index for The US remained in the top position for 3

4 investment intentions with Canada rising to the second position while Germany fell to the third. North Korea seeks air corridor to South Korea North Korea has asked the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for permission to open an air corridor to South Korea, the UN agency said on Friday. The proposal to establish a new air traffic services corridor between Pyongyang and the South Korean city of Incheon was submitted to the ICAO s regional offices in Bangkok, Thailand, in February, the agency said. The ICAO said it has conveyed the proposal to South Korea s civil aviation authorities. 4

5 National News Dr. Mahesh Sharma to inaugurate an extensive exhibition on Indian Civilisation at National Museum, New Delhi On May 5,2018 An Exhibition called India and the World: A History in Nine Stories will be inaugurated at the National Museum auditorium, New Delhi by Dr. Mahesh Sharma,Minister of State for Culture(I/c) and Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This effort made by the British Museum, London; National Museum, New Delhi; and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai with support of the Culture Ministry. The exhibition evaluates the development of Indian civilization in a sequel order through delicate artifact from India and abroad. India and the World: A History in Nine Stories deeps into two million years of history. This exhibition will be a part of memorial of 70 years of India s independence and a year of major cultural exchange between India and the UK (UK/India 2017). This exhibition covers 200 objects and works of art from the collections of the British Museum, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), National Museum,and also around 20 museums and private collections across India. It will starts with Indus Valley civilization and coming down to the present, the artifacts range from stone sculptures, terracotta, coins, tools, inscriptions and manuscripts to textiles, jewellery, Mughal miniatures and contemporary paintings, demonstrating the common threads of human history. NITI Aayog to Collaborate with IBM to develop Precision Agriculture using Artificial Intelligence On May 4, the Government s Policy Think-Tank NITI Aayog & a World s Leading Information Technology Company IBM had signed a Statement of Intent (SOI), in the Presence of NITI Aayog CEO Shri.Amitabh Kant and MD, IBM India Shri Karan Bajwa. Objective of this Collaborations: The Objective of the Collaborations is to Introduce technology to provide perspective to farmers to improve the Productivity of Crops,Soil Yields,Improving the Farmers Incomes.And the Project is Implemented by Using Artificial Intelligence by which Farmers get to know about the Climate Change,Crop Monitoring and Early Warning on Pest & Disease Outbreak. Implementation of the Scheme: The First Phase of the Project is Implemented in 10 Aspirational Districts across the States of Assam, Bihar, Jhaarkh and Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra, Rajasthan & Uttar Pradesh. 5

6 Patanjali ranked as most trusted FMCG brand in India Patanjali Ayurved Limited has been ranked as India s most trusted Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brand in the TRA s Brand Trust Report In overall brand ranking Patanjali is at 13th rank. Top Brand- Samsung Top BFSI- SBI (21 rank) Pak girl becomes ambassador for Swachh Jamui Swasth Jamui Triggering a controversy, a Pakistani girl featured as the brand ambassador on the cover page of a booklet meant to promote Swachh Jamui Swasth Jamui initiative in Bihar s Jamui district. It was also revealed that the girl was being promoted as the face of UNICEF in Pakistan for education. HRD Ministry notifies 75 National Resource Centres The Ministry of Human Resource Development has launched a major and unique initiative of online professional development of 1.5 million higher education faculty using the MOOCs platform SWAYAM. In the first phase, 75 discipline-specific National Resource Centres have been identified which are tasked to prepare online training material with focus on latest developments in the discipline, new & emerging trends, pedagogical improvements and methodologies for transacting revised curriculum. Under this initiative, all in-service teachers, irrespective of their subject and seniority will have an enabling opportunity to keep abreast of the latest developments in their disciplines through the technology based online refresher course. 6

7 State News Gadkari to lay foundation stone of highway projects in Telangana On May 5, 2018 Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will lay foundation stone of four national highway projects costing Rs 1,523 crore in Telangana. The ceremony to be held in Hyderabad and it will be attended by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. It includes six laning of Aramgarh-Shamsabad section of NH 44 between Hyderabad and Bangalore, rehabilitation and upgradation of NH 765D from Hyderabad outer ring road to Medak, construction of 4-lane flyover at Amberpet-X Roads, and construction of 6-lane elevated corridor from Uppal to Narapally on the Hyderabad-Bhopalpatnam section of NH 163. ART detour to protect freedom of expression Any movement of youth to protect freedom of expression is a cause for celebration at a time when Fascists are trying to stifle free speech and expression, Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran has said. He was speaking after flagging off ART detour from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod, organised by the Kerala State Youth Welfare Board as part of the National Youth Concord. 7

8 Banking & Economy Signing of Legal Agreements between Govt. of India and World Bank on National Biopharma Mission To develop an innovative biopharmaceutical and medical devices industry in India, Government of India and the World Bank signed an agreement. The aim is to make India a hub for design and development of novel, affordable and effective biopharmaceutical products. The agreement has signed at a cost of USD 250 million for five years with 50 per cent funding through the World Bank Loan. The agreement for the Project was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; Mohd. Aslam, Managing Director, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC); and Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank India, on behalf of the World Bank. It will also encourage to develop promote industry-academia interface and enable startups and small and medium enterprises to build innovation research capacities for developing affordable healthcare products. India tops list of fastest growing economies for coming decade: Harvard study The Centre for International Development at Harvard University Predicted the Fastest growing economies in the world for the Upcoming Decade.The Growth projections are based on some of the economic Complexity.India Topped the list with the Projection of 7.9 Per cent which is far high than China (4.9 Per cent),u.s.(3 Per cent),france (3.5 Per cent).uganda is in Second Position with predicted growth of 7.5 percent. Top Fastest Growing Countries are 1. India (1st Place) 2. Uganda (2nd Place) 3. Tanzania (4th Place) 4. Kenya (10th Place) 8

9 ADB projects India s growth at 7.3% in 2018 at the 51st ADB Annual Meeting 51st Asian Development Bank( ADB) Annual Meeting was Presided by ADB President Takehiko Nakao.While Adressing the Ceremony of the 51st Meeting,Nakao Said that India s growth is Projected to be 7.3 Percent in Fiscal Year 2018 & 7.6 Per cent in the next Fiscal,which is far higher than its 6.6 Percent in FiscalYear ADB s Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada said that the India s Growth in 2017 is low because the Introduction of Demonetisation.And he Further Continues that the growth Projection of India is high from the Previous year is because of the Implementation of GST,Foreign Direct Investment also helps in India s growth & the Most Important Factor which boost the growth is the Governments Initiative of Ease of Doing Business. SEBI extends trade timing for derivatives The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed stock exchanges to extend the trading session for futures and options (F&O) segment from the current 3.30 p.m. to in the night beginning October 1. With a view to enable integration of trading of various segments of securities market at the level of exchanges, it has been decided to permit stock exchanges to set their trading hours in the equity derivatives segment between 9 a.m. and p.m. similar to the trading hours for commodity derivatives segment which are presently fixed between 10 a.m. and 11:55 p.m. the SEBI circular said. GST Council approves single form for ling of returns The Goods and Services Tax Council on Friday decided to convert the GST Network into a 100% government enterprise, and implement a single form for GST filing from the current three. At its 27th meeting, the Council also decided to create a Group of Ministers to review the plan for imposition of a cess on sugar. The cess was meant to subsidise sugarcane farmers as their production cost is much higher than the selling price. 9

10 Sports News The IAAF Diamond League -Neeraj Chopra won 4th Place On 4th May 2018, India s javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finished fourth in the seasonopening IAAF Diamond League, at the Qatar Sport Club, in Doha, Qatar. Neeraj Chopra made a throw of metres and finished fourth. He has bettered his previous national record mark of metres. Germany s Thomas Rohler won gold medal with a throw of metres. Germany s Johannes Vetter secured the second spot with a throw of metres. Germany s Andreas Hoffman finished third with a throw of metres. Czech Republic s Jakub Vadlejch came fifth with a throw of Sports initiative Star Khel Mahakumbh launched at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh A sports initiative Star Khel Mahakumbh was launched at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh today in the presence of 1,500 athletes. The athletes will compete in volleyball, basketball, cricket, football, kabaddi and athletics. 10

11 Awards & Honours Jnanpith laureate M T Vasudevan Nair bags ONV Literary Prize Jnanpith laureate M T Vasudevan Nair has bagged this year s annual ONV Literary Prize, for his contributions to Malayalam literature. The ONV Literary Prize has been instituted in memory of late poet O N V Kurup. The award consists of a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh, citation and a plaque. It is presented by the ONV Cultural Academy. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would give away the award to M T Vasudevan, who is also known as M T, at a ceremony on 27th May Also, Anuja Akathoot s poetry collection, Amma Urangunnilla has been selected for the young writer award. Ministry of Railways announces Awards for beautification of Station premises In an aim to promote cleanliness and creativity, the Ministry of Railways had invited nominations from all Zonal Railways for stations where beautification has been done with contribution from local artists. 62 entries were received from 11 Zonal Railways. An evaluation committee comprising Executive Director (Station development), Chief Commercial Manager (systems) of South Central Railway, Executive director (Tourism) and an official from the Northeast Frontier Railway reviewed the nominations. First Prize Balharshah and Chandrapur stations (Nagpur Division) of Central Railway. Both the stations have been awarded with Rs 10 Lakhs prize money. Second Prize Madhubani Railway station under Samastipur Division of East Central Railway in Bihar and Madurai Railway Station (Southern Railway). Rs 5 lakh prize money has been awarded to both the stations. Third Prize Kota Station (West Central Railway), Gandhidham Station (Western Railway) & Secunderabad Station (South Central Railway). These stations have been awarded Rs 3 lakh prize money. 11

12 Appointments & Resignation Two Group of Ministers Constituted Subsequent to the decisions taken in the 27th GST Council meeting held on ), two Group of Ministers (GoMs) have been constituted. The first GoM shall consider the issues relating to Incentivizing digital payments in the GST regime. Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Deputy Chief Minister, Bihar is convenor of this GoM. The Second GoM shall consider issues relating to Imposition of Cess on Sugar under GST. Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, Finance Minister of Assam is convenor of this GoM. Both the GoMs shall submit their reports within a period of 15 days. 12

13 Books & Authors The book The Red Fort Declaration authored by journalist Fakir Hassen The book The Red Fort Declaration The Legacy 20 Years on commemoration of 20 years of Strategic Partnership, authored by journalist Fakir Hassen, which documents the progress of bilateral relations between the two countries. ISSF brings you Athletes Handbook Quality guidance at a young age is the key to healthy growth in any sport. Keeping this in mind, the Athletes Committee of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), with the former World and Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra as the chairman, has brought out a comprehensive Athletes Handbook, for the benefit of shooters around the world. The book in its digital form can be downloaded from the ISSF website. The handbook answers 10 questions in each of the 11 chapters, addressing all aspects of the sport and beyond. 13

14 Science & Techonology Dakota DC-3 VP 905 aircraft joins IAF again On 4th May 2018, Dakota DC-3 VP 905 aircraft joined the Indian Air Force again, in an induction ceremony at Hindan air force station, Uttar Pradesh, over four decades after the aircraft fleet was phased out. The Dakota DC-3 VP 905 was formally inducted into the IAF. At the ceremony a key was received by the Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal B S Dhanoa from Air Commodore (retd) M K Chandrasekhar. M K Chandrasekhar s son and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar bought the aircraft from scrap and restored it in the UK. Dakota was accepted by the Chief of Air Staff from the Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar on 13 February The restored Dakota has been renamed as Parashuram. It will join the Vintage Fly of one each of Tiger Moth and Howard developed at Hindan air force station. The aircraft started from the UK on 17th April 2018 to India with the crew of IAF and Reflight Airworks. NASA launches InSight spacecraft to Mars to study Red Planet s quakes On 5th May 2018, NASA launched InSight spacecraft aboard an Atlas V rocket to study Marsquakes, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, United States. InSight has been designed to stay on the surface of Mars and listen to Marsquakes. The project costs $993 million. The US spent $813.8 million on the spacecraft and rocket launch. France and Germany spent $180 million on the instruments. A pair of mini-spacecraft named Mars Cube One, or MarCO are also launching on the rocket. It cost NASA $18.5 million. The MarCO are briefcase-sized satellites. They will fly on their own path to Mars behind InSight. They will test tiny new deep space communications equipment. Tapanuli Orangutan, World s rarest ape on the edge of extinction Scientists have said that, Tapanuli Orangutan, the rarest ape species on Earth, is on the verge of extinction. 14

15 Less than 800 members of the Tapanuli Orangutan species are alive. They are in danger due to mega-projects, deforestation, road building, and poaching. This was mentioned in a study published in the journal Current Biology. They would not survive unless immediate steps are taken to rescue them. This species was discovered in 2017 in Sumatra, Indonesia. A major threat to them is a planned $1.6 billion mega-dam project to be constructed by a Chinese state-owned corporation. 15

16 Obituaries Veteran animator Dave Michener behind Sleeping Beauty dies at 85 On 15th February 2018, Dave Michener, popular animator, who had worked for many Walt Disney films, died due to a virus, at his residence in Los Angeles, United States. Although Dave Michener died on 15th February 2018, the news of his death was revealed recently by his wife. He was 85 years old. He had worked in various movies like The Great Mouse Detective (1986), The Fox and the Hound (1981), The Rescuers (1977), Oliver & Company (1988), and Robin Hood (1973). Former Air Chief Marshal Idris Hassan Latif passes away Air Chief Marshal Idris Hassan Latif, the former Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), has passed away in Hyderabad at aged 94. He was the IAF chief from Sept 1978 to Aug After his retirement in 1981, Latif held the posts of Maharashtra Governor and Indian Ambassador to France. 16