Current Affairs May 2018 for IBPS, SSC, IAS and other competitive exams.

National

• Social networking giant Facebook has partnered with National Commission for Women (NCW) to launch Digital Literacy Programme to train women on safe use of internet and social media. The programme was launched by Facebook in collaboration with Ranchi, Jharkhanda-based Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF), a civil society organisation involved in training related to all aspects of cyber security.

• The Union Ministry of Tourism for first time issued guidelines for Adventure Tourism in India in an effort to make adventure sports safer. These guidelines were launched Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) K. J. Alphons in New Delhi. In past few years, adventure tourism has grown rapidly India. It has been playing vital role in economic growth of the country as well as attracting large number of travellers from across globe to country.

• Ministry of Railways conducted one day workshop Mission Raftaar aimed at raising average speed of freight trains and coaching trains in New Delhi. The workshop was inaugurated by Minister of State (MoS) for Railways Rajen Gohain and Chairman of Railway Board Ashwani Lohani. It was attended by all members of Railway Board along with General Managers of Zonal Railways & Senior Railway officers were present on occasion.

• Union Ministry of Railways has launched new user interface of its Next Generation e-Ticketing (NGeT) System on Indian Railway’s Online Travel Portal (www.irctc.co.in). Through NGeT system, Indian Railways new online ticket booking system provides user-friendly, easy and fast way of booking rail tickets by automating journey planning and purchase of tickets. It was launched as part of Union Government’s Digital India’ initiative to harness power of technology and in making lives easier for citizens of India.

• The Union Ministry of Power has launched web portal (www.praapti.in) and app namely PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators). The webportal and app aims to bring transparency in power purchase transactions between Generators and Discoms.

• Union Government has signed agreement for IBRD Credit of US $21.7 Million from World Bank for Strengthening of Public Financial Management in Rajasthan Project. The Implementing Entity Agreement for the project was signed by Secretary, Finance (Budget) on behalf of Government of Rajasthan, and Acting Country Director (India) on behalf of World Bank.

• The Union Ministry of Women and Child and Development (WCD) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uttar Pradesh Government for management of Home of Widows at Sunrakh Bangar, Vrindavan. The MoU will be in force for period of 2 years and may be renewed for further period on satisfactory running of shelter homes of widows.

• Tata Trusts has signed MoU with Government to provide development support in eight worst Naxal-affected districts in Chhattisgarh. These eight worst Naxal-affected districts are covered under Transformation of aspirational districts Programme of NITI Aayog.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first smart and green highway-135 km long Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal (KGP) Expressway also known as Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE). The expressway was completed in record time of about 500 days against target of 910 days at a cost of nearly Rs 11,000 crore.

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has teamed up with state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to send extreme weather warnings (alerts) to people. The alerts will be about impending extreme weather conditions such as thunderstorms and heatwave.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation stone for first phase (2400MW) of NTPC’s coal based Patratu Super Thermal Power Project in Jharkhand. The project is 74: 26 Joint Venture between Government of Jharkhand (GoJ) and Patratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. (PVUN), a subsidiary company of NTPC. The Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) contract of project is awarded to BHEL.

• NITI Aayog has signed Statement of Intent (SoI) with noted media personality and entrepreneur Sushant Singh Rajput to collaborate and support its flagship Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) initiative. In his new role, actor turned entrepreneur will support NITI’s initiative for women entrepreneurs, to fund women-led startups to establish a vibrant, enabling entrepreneurial ecosystem for women of the country. He will also promote Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) digital payments app for cashless economy by appearing in various video, print and social media campaigns of NITI Aayog. He will also support NITI Aayog in promoting Women Transforming India Awards 2018 with theme ‘Women and Entrepreneurship’.

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has created Women Safety Division to address issues related to security of women comprehensively amid rising concerns over women safety. The division will deal with all aspects of women safety in coordination with relevant ministries, departments and state governments.

ASEAN India Film Festival was held in New Delhi from May 25 to 30, 2018. It was organised by Ministry of External Affairs (ASEAN Multilateral Division) as part of the series of events to commemorate 25 years of ASEAN and India relations.

• ASEAN India Film Festival was held in New Delhi from May 25 to 30, 2018. It was organised by Ministry of External Affairs (ASEAN Multilateral Division) as part of the series of events to commemorate 25 years of ASEAN and India relations.

• India and Netherlands launched Clean Air India Initiative in New Delhi. It aims to curb air pollution in Indian cities by promoting partnerships between Indian start-ups and companies from Netherlands. It also aims build network of entrepreneurs working on business solutions for cleaner air.

• National Informatics Centre (NIC) has set up cloud-enabled National Data Centre at Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It will offer round-the-clock operations with secure hosting for e-governance applications of ministries and departments. It is fourth cloud-enabled National Data Centre of NIC after Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune,

• The UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund) launched Data Visualisation App to provide user-friendly visual representation of complex analytics of education scenario in India. It was developed with technical inputs from the UNICEF, in collaboration with National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and National Institute of Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA).

The Fifteenth Finance Commission has constituted high level group to explore and give recommendations for a balanced expansion of the health sector. It will be headed by Dr. RandeepGuleria, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi and shall consist of eminent experts in health sector from across the country.

• The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) launched Samagra Shiksha scheme to improve quality of school education. The scheme aims at improving quality of education, enhancing learning outcomes and using technology to empower children and teachers. The scheme subsumes three existing schemes: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shikskha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE) to treat school education holistically, from pre-school to Class XII.

• The Union Government has reconstituted Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) to include secretaries from revenue department as well as Ministry of Information Technology (MeitY). It will include Chairman of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). This decision will make FSDC more broad-based to incorporate changes in economic regulatory framework of the country.

• The 5th India-CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam) Business Conclave was held at Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was jointly organised by Ministry of Commerce & Industry along with Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is institutional partner of the event.

• Union Cabinet has approved implementation of Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) Project for North Eastern Region (NER) in Meghalaya to improve mobile services. The project has provision of 2G and 4G mobile coverage in identified uncovered areas of Meghalaya and seamless mobile coverage along National Highways in state. It will be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). Cabinet also approved enhanced cost of CTDP Project for NER for amount of Rs 8,120.81 crore. It already has approved Rs 5,336.18 crore on September2014 for the project.

Union Cabinet has approved Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA’s) proposal of setting up 4,072 mobile towers to improve telecom connectivity network in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Areas. This network would be used by security personnel deployed in LWE affected areas.

• Union Cabinet has approved Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA’s) proposal of setting up 4,072 mobile towers to improve telecom connectivity network in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Areas. This network would be used by security personnel deployed in LWE affected areas.

• NITI Aayog and ABB India have signed Statement of Intent (SoI) to help India leverage power of advanced technologies, including robotics and artificial intelligence. Under it, two parties will work towards making key sectors of Indian economy ready for digitalised future and realise potential of AI, big data and connectivity.

• Governments of India, Netherlands and Sweden launched first-of-its-kind collaborative research programme on HIV/AIDS. It is aimed at harnessing complementary research strengths and diverse expertise across three nations to catalyze development of better tools to understand and address burgeoning global epidemic of HIV.

• India ranked 145th among 195 countries in terms of Healthcare access and quality (HAQ) index in the year 2016, behind its neighbours like China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. The index was released as part of Global Burden of Disease study released by Lancet, one of the world’s oldest and best known peer-reviewed general medical journal.

Election Commission of India (ECI) is launching multi-lingual mobile application called Model Code of Conduct Violation Reporting App ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The app aims at empowering people across the country to share evidence of malpractice by political parties, their candidates and activists directly with ECI.

• India received first consignment of 2 million barrels of crude oil from United Arab Emirates (UAE) for its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) at Mangaluru (on west coast), Karnataka. This first consignment from UAE fill one of two strategic reserve caverns at Mangaluru under agreement between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

• Chhattisgarh will get specialised anti-Naxal combat force called Black Panther on the lines of the Greyhounds unit of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It was announced by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh after chairing meeting on Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). Currently, training is being imparted for personnel who will be part of Black Panther elite force.

• According to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government has earned Rs1,400 crore as revenue from highly successful e-Visa scheme since its launch in 2014. 19 lakh tourists made use of e-Visa scheme in 2017 and fees are divided into four slabs of zero, $25, $50 and $75, which were fixed on reciprocity and depending on nationality.

• State run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) has distributed over 30 crore light emitting diode (LED) bulbs across country under zero-subsidy Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme. The distribution of 30 crore LED bulbs has led to energy savings of over 38,952 million kWh, annually, amounting to energy savings of Rs. 15,581 crore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated construction of Rs 6,809 crore Zojila tunnel project in Jammu and Kashmir’s Leh. It will be India’s and Asia’s longest and strategic bi-directional road tunnel, which will provide all-weather connectivity between Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.

• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur has set up India’s first Centre for Energy Regulation (CER) with the help of Government of United Kingdom. The first of its kind centre in India aims at providing independent advisory on policy and regulatory matters in the power and energy sector.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 300 MW Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project in Bandipora District of Jammu & Kashmir. He also laid foundation stone of 1000 MW capacity Pakal Dul Power Project.

• Supreme Court has approved Centre’s draft Cauvery Management Scheme for smooth distribution of water among four southern riparian states/UT viz. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. It ordered Central Government to notify the scheme before the monsoons.

• According to World Health Statistics 2018 released by World Health Organisation (WHO), India saw estimated 211 cases of tuberculosis (TB) per 1,00,000 people in 2016. India has pledged to eradicate tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of global target set by WHO. WHO’s annual World Health Statistics reports present most recent health statistics for WHO Member States.

Northeast Frontier Railway of Indian Railway has started operating one lease Parcel Cargo Express Train (PCET) connecting northeastern part of the country to West Coast on fortnightly basis. It was launched on line of Government’s priority to provide connectivity to northeast region and empowering local industries of this region.

• Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology (CSTT) adopted word ‘AYUSH’ in Hindi and English languages for scientific and technical purposes. The decision follows a proposal from Ministry of AYUSH in this regards. AYUSH word has become popular as acronym for five traditional and complementary systems of medicine, namely

• Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued notification for creation of Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) in Department of Commerce. In this regard amendments were made in Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961.

• The Union Cabinet has approved National Policy on Biofuels – 2018 in order to promote biofuels in the country. Biofuels in India are of strategic importance as it augers well with ongoing initiatives of Government such as Make in India, Skill Development and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. It also offers great opportunity to integrate with ambitious targets of doubling of import reduction, farmers’ income, employment generation, waste to wealth Creation.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved initial corpus of Rs.5,000 crore for setting up of dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) in NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved initial corpus of Rs.5,000 crore for setting up of dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) in NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).

• The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Deoghar, Jharkhand under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). It will serve dual purpose of providing super speciality health care to population and help to create large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region to be available for primary and secondary-level institutions and healthcare facilities being created under the National Health Mission (NHM).

• Union Cabinet has approved strengthening commercial disputes resolution mechanism of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) inter se and also between CPSEs and other Government Departments and Organizations. The Cabinet decision is based on recommendations of Committee of Secretaries (CoS).

• The Union Cabinet has approved establishment of National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation (NIMHR) at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. NIMHR, Bhopal. It will be first of its kind institute in country in area of mental health rehabilitation.

• The Union Cabinet has given its in-principle approval for establishing Central University by name of Central University of Andhra Pradesh in Janthaluru village of Ananthapur District of Andhra Pradesh. It also approved the proposal for operationalization of Central University in transit campus.

The first-ever International Rail Coach Expo (IRCE) was in Chennai, Tamil Nadu from 17th to 19th May 2018 to focus on Rail Coaches and train sets. Many reputed rail car and equipment builders showcased their technology and products in this expo.

• According to Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the subscriber base of Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has crossed 1 crore subscribers mark since its launch in May 2015. Till date, the scheme has collected Rs. 3,950 crore of contribution from subscribers. It has generated around 9.10% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) since inception till March 2018.

• Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has issued National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy with an aim to boost renewable power generation by promoting new projects as well as hybridisation of existing ones. Government is also going to launch scheme for new hybrid projects under this policy.

• Four States and one Union Territory have signed first MoU with National Health Mission, Government of India for implementing Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission (PMRSSM). These states/UTs are Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh (UT).

The Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) run by an all-woman team began its operations Phagwara, Punjab. It was was inaugurated by Union Minister Vijay Sampla in the local head Post Office of Phagwara.

• According to recent study of Lancet Global Health, there have been 2,39,000 excess deaths per year of girls under age of five in India due to gender bias. Excess mortality is difference between observed and expected mortality rates in both genders.

• Union Government is going to link additional 200 wholesale mandis to online trading platform eNAM (electronic National Agriculture Market) this fiscal (2018-19) and also encourage inter-mandi transactions. At present, 585 regulated mandis in 14 states are linked with the eNAM. So far, 73.50 lakh farmers, 53,163 commission agents and over 1 lakh traders are registered on it from these 14 states. Government is ensuring that all wholesale agri-mandis adopt online auction and gradually allow trading between mandis in state and eventually between mandis outside states, thereby setting up single national agriculture market for benefit of farmers.

• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is going to set up skill development centre for clients of Bharosa, an integrated support centre for distressed women and children in Hyderabad, Telangana. This initiative is aimed at empowering vulnerable and marginalised women by imparting skills training.

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is planning to add 30 more doppler radars in the next two-three years across the country. 14 will be located in the northeast, four in Jammu and Kashmir and three each will be Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Ministry of Tourism has decided to expand Buddhist tourism circuit under Swadesh Darshan Scheme to 21 more states to make it India’s first trans-national tourist circuit. Earlier it was envisaged only to seven major Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

• India and Peru signed agreement in field of Renewable Energy. The pact was signed after bilateral meeting between Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister of Peru Cesar Villanueva Arevalo in Lima. Vice President’s visited Peru was last leg of his first state visit to three Central American nations Guatemala, Panama and Peru. This was very important visit as it will help to enhance and strengthen India’s bilateral relations with these nations and will increase trade, investments and cooperation among these countries.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli jointly inaugurated direct bus service between Janakpur (Nepal) and Ayodhya (India). Both are sacred cities for Hindus and bus service was launched as part of India’s Ramayan Circuit under Swadesh Darshan Scheme to promote religious tourism in Nepal and India.

• Atal Tinkering Marathon’s Top 30 Innovations to be supported through industry partnerships were showcased on the eve of the National Technology Day. They were showcased through a booklet compiling the work done by the children, the mentors, teachers and schools.

• National Technology Day is being observed across India on May 11 to mark India’s technological advancements and to promote the development of technology in various fields. The official theme for this year is “Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future”.

United States’ prestigious Stanford University has agreed to assist Uttar Pradesh Government to combat chronic disease like Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES). It was announced by Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh who had headed high-powered delegation of top state officials to United States. The delegation also met with the officials from US State Department, Department of Commerce and US Agency for International Development (USAID).

• India and Panama have signed two agreements on exemption of Visas for holders of Diplomatic and Official Passports and in the field of Agriculture. These agreements were signed in the presence of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and President of Panama Juan Carlos Varela Rodrigues in Panama city. It was second leg of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu’s his first official foreign visit to three countries Guatemala, Panama and Peru to strengthen India’s relations with them.

• India has sent Bangladesh its second relief consignment under Operation Insaniyat to help tens of thousands of displaced Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar into Bangladesh following military crackdown in violence-hit Rakhine state.

• The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) has launched the website of Digital India Internship Scheme. The portal will facilitate students to apply online for internship. It was launched by Information Technology Minister Ravi Prasad Shankar in New Delhi.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has approved green licence plates bearing numbers in white fonts for private e-vehicles and yellow for taxis to promote electric vehicles (e-vehicles) in India. The purpose behind distinctive green number plates is easy identification of electric vehicles for preferential treatment in parking, free entry in congested zones besides other proposed benefits like concessional toll.

• The Fifteenth Finance Commission (FCC) headed by NK Singh has constituted Advisory Council to advise and assist Commission on issue or subject related to Terms of Reference (ToR) to quell strong opposition from some states over 2011 census. The council comprises Arvind Virmani, former chief economic advisor, Surjit S Bhalla, Sajjid Chinoy, Neelkanth Mishra, Sanjeev Gupta, and Pinaki Chakraborty.

• According to Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), India’s installed clean (renewable) energy capacity has already touched 70 Gigawatts (GW) and 38 GW is under implementation. This shows that India is progressing fast in areas of renewable energy and it is committed to meeting target of having 175 GW renewable energy (100GW Solar, 60 GW Wind, 10 GW Biomass and 5 GW Hydro) by 2022.

• India and Guatemala have signed pact for strengthening diplomatic cooperation through Respective Foreign Service Institutes in educational field. The agreement was signed after meeting between Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and his Guatemala counterpart, Jafeth Cabrera Franco in Guatemala City. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu visit Guatemala as part of his first official foreign visit to three countries Guatemala, Panama and Peru to strengthen India’s relations with them.

• India was ranked fourth out of 25 nations in Asia-Pacific region in the inaugural Asia Power Index released by Australian think tank Lowy Institute.

India was ranked fourth out of 25 nations in Asia-Pacific region in the inaugural Asia Power Index released by Australian think tank Lowy Institute.

• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued draft Telecommunication Interconnection (Amendment) Regulations 2018 to amend interconnect regulations, proposing certain changes in terms and conditions for operators to seek fresh call connect ports from other telecom operators.

• The first edition of this year’s bi-annual Naval Commanders’ Conference was held in New Delhi from 8 to 11 May 2018. It discussed aspects concerning country’s maritime security, analyse mission-based deployments and larger issues of geo-strategic Indian Ocean Region (IOR), a region witnessing increasing Chinese presence.

• Nepal Government has granted power generation licence to Indian government-owned subsidiary Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL) from a 900-megawatt (MW) Arun-3 Hydropower Project located in eastern Nepal.

• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) is going to expand Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in tribal districts across the country. About 3000 such kendras are proposed to be set up in two years in all forested Tribal Districts. Initially, it will be taken up on priority in 39 districts with more than 50% tribal population and then gradually will be expanded to other Tribal Districts across the country.

The Union Government has signed $200 million loan agreement with World Bank for National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan) for 315 districts across all states and union territories. The loan proceeds will be used for reducing stunting in children 0-6 years of age from 38.4% to 25% by 2022 under POSHAN Abhiyaan.

• Scientists have discovered a new species of shieldtail snake named Bhupathy’s shieldtail from the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu. It is presently only known to exist in Anaikatty hills of Tamil Nadu which is dominated by deciduous type of vegetation.

• Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) in its Programme Approval Board (PAB) meeting has approved setting up additional 100 One Stop Centres (OSCs) for women affected by violence. These OSCs will be set up in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

• The NITI Aayog has signed Statement of Intent (SoI) with search engine giant Google to work together to foster growth for India’s nascent artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) ecosystem

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified protocol to amend existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and Kuwait. The DTAA between both countries was signed in June 2006 for the avoidance of double taxation and for prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.

• The First Apex Conference for CEOs of Smart Cities was held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. It was organised by Union Urban Affairs Ministry and inaugurated by Minister of State (I/C) for Housing & Urban Affairs.The conference aimed to provided single platform for convergence of all best practices in Smart city missions across country to help city leaders to use collective learning to accelerate progress of work. It also aimed to provide momentum to cities and platform for cross-learning, sharing and disseminating experience gained over past two and a half years.

• India is going to host 15th Asia Media Summit (AMS-2018) in New Delhi from May 10-12, 2018. The summit is being organised by Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) in collaboration with its partners and international organisations.

• NITI Aayog has signed Statement of Intent (SoI) with IBM to develop crop yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide real time advisory to farmers in Aspirational Districts. The partnership aims to work together towards use of technology to provide insights to farmers to improve soil yield, crop productivity, control agricultural inputs with overarching goal of improving farmers’ incomes

• The 27th meeting of GST Council chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has approved proposal of convert GST Network (GSTN) into government entity from current private entity status by taking over stakes held by private entities. The council has agreed to buy out stake of private entities in GSTN. Following the move, central government will own 50% in GSTN and the remaining will be collectively held by state governments.

Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has set up central body – National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) to maintain a comprehensive water resources data. NWIC will be subordinate office under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. It will be headed by joint secretary level officer.

• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has partnered with board Survey of India, to facilitate the Ganga rejuvenation task under Namami Gange programme by using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. Through the project, NMCG aims to strengthen planning and implementation at national, state and local levels.

• The GST Council in its 27th meeting has constituted two Group of Ministers (GoM) to consider issues related to Incentivizing digital payments in GST regime & Imposition of Cess on Sugar under GST. Both GoMs will submit their reports within period of 15 days.

• Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) launched initiative of online professional development of 1.5 million higher education faculty using massive open online course (MOOC) platform SWAYAM. Under its first phase of implementation, 75 discipline-specific National Resource Centres (NRCs) have been identified.

• Retirement fund body Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched View Pension Passbook Service for pensioners on Umang App. This facility was launched part of EPFO’s plan to go paperless by August this year and provide all services online. It will allow pensioners view their pension passbook on mobile phones with the help of Umang app. EPFO is already providing various e-services for its stakeholders through Umang.

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued warning of another dust storm and thunderstorm in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The satellite images have shown wind pressure developing in two states leading to thunderstorms, gusty winds and heavy rain. It also has forecasted thunderstorm accompanied with squall is also likely at isolated places over Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal and Odisha. The fresh warning comes after two north Indian states were earlier hit severe dust storm, which took lives of over 100 people and left trail of destruction.

• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into 200th Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreement (UAPA) after it singed one in April 2018. With the signing of this, CBDT has achieved another milestone of having signed its 200th UAPA. The total number of APAs entered into by CBDT so far has gone up to 220, which include 20 Bilateral APAs. The UAPA entered in April, 2018 pertains to provision of sourcing support services

• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved continuation of Umbrella Scheme, Green Revolution – Krishonnati Yojana in agriculture sector beyond 12th Five Year Plan from 2017-18 to 2019-20. The Umbrella scheme comprises of 11 Schemes and Missions.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved proposal for renaming and restructuring of Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) as Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK). It also has approved its continuation during the remaining period of the 14th Finance Commission.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved proposal to provide financial assistance of Rs. 5.50 per quintal of cane crushed in sugar season 2017-18. It will help to sugar mills to offset the cost of cane which will inturn help sugar mills to clear cane dues of farmers.

India and United States held the third round of the India-US Maritime Security Dialogue in Goa from April 30 to May 1, 2018 focussing on cooperation and developments in the Indo-Pacific region

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved promulgation of Ordinance amend a law for speedy disposal of commercial disputes. This decision aims to improve India’s ranking in World Bank’s ease of doing business index. The index takes into consideration dispute resolution environment in country, which facilitates investors in deciding for setting up of and operation of a business.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved plan to set up 20 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) across the country and upgrade 73 medical colleges. The decisions are part of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), which has been extended by two years till 2020 with financial outlay of Rs.14,832 crore.

• The Union Cabinet has approved doubling of investment limit from Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh under Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY). It also extended time limits for subscription from ay 2018 to March, 2020.

• The Union Cabinet has given approval to accede to Protocol under World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on tobacco control to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products.

The Union Cabinet has approved restructuring of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) by upgradation, creation and abolition of certain posts of Joint Secretary-level and above. Decision in this regard was taken at Union Cabinet Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

• The Task Force constituted on “Establishing a Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)” has submitted its report to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The Task Force was constituted by MHA in August, 2017 and was headed by Preeti Saran, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

• The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has released draft of new Telecom policy – National Digital Communications Policy, 2018. The policy seeks to unlock transformative power of digital communications networks to achieve the goal of digital empowerment and well-being of the people of India

• The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted two-day National Workshop on Data Requirements for Disaster Risk Reduction Database in New Delhi. The workshop was held in collaboration with United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

• The Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation has launched GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) – DHAN scheme at National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) Karnal. It was launched under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) by Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Uma Bharti.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted two-day National Workshop on Data Requirements for Disaster Risk Reduction Database in New Delhi. The workshop was held in collaboration with United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

• The 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in holy city if Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) from January 21 to January 23, 2019. Its theme will be “Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India”. The mega event will be organised by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in association with Uttar Pradesh government. It will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.

• Ministry of Power has launched Pilot Scheme for Procurement of Aggregate Power of 2500 MW on competitive basis for 3 years. The main purpose of scheme is to revive commissioned power plants which are unable to sell electricity in absence of valid power purchase agreements (PPAs).

International

• The 71st World Health Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland has adopted resolution on Digital Health. The resolution was initiated by India and was co-sponsored by 20 countries. The World Health Assembly is highest decision-making body of World Health Organization (WHO). Its 71st session was attended by delegations from all WHO member states.

• Colombia has formally joined North Atlantic Treaty Organization as global partner. It makes it first Latin American to join NATO. The announcement came after Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) approved Colombia as a new member.

• The first edition of Global Wind Summit will be held in Hamburg, Germany from September 25 to 28, 2018. It will be largest and most important meeting of the wind industry worldwide. The summit will see participation of of speakers from about 100 countries, including India, China, the US, Spain and Denmark.

• Pakistan hosted its first ever Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) legal experts meeting in Islamabad. This was the first-ever SCO meeting being held in Pakistan since it became a permanent member of the organisation along with India in June 2017.

World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Nepal for having eliminated trachoma, a contagious bacterial infection of the eye. It makes Nepal first country in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to defeat trachoma, world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. The eye disease was second leading cause of preventable blindness in Nepal in 1980s. Its prevalence in Nepal has fallen by 40% following implementation of sustained control activities including national trachoma programme which provided incentives to local communities and districts to build and maintain latrines, measures that were crucial to improve sanitation and reduce disease carrying flies.

• United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) in its report has listed Pakistan among top three sources for money laundering in the country. The other two countries are Nigeria and Russia. The NCA is non-ministerial UK government law enforcement agency.

• The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held extraordinary summit in Istanbul, Turkey to discuss recent Israeli violence against Palestinian protesters in Gaza Strip. The summit was convened at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It condemned massacre of Peaceful Palestinian civilian protestors by the Israeli forces as well as on the official opening of US Embassy in Jerusalem in defiance of international law, UN Security Council (UNSC) and General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution.

• World Health Organization (WHO) has launched comprehensive plan “REPLACE” to eliminate industrially-produced artificial trans-fats from global food supply by 2023. The elimination of trans-fats is key to protecting health and saving lives. REPLACE is abbreviated in six strategic actions as

• The International Day of Families is observed every year on 15th of May across world to promote awareness of issues relating to families and increase knowledge of social, economic and demographic progression that affects families which are the basic unit of society. The theme for this year is “Families and inclusive societies”. It explores role of families and family policies in advancing Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) in terms of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. The day was proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1993 by adopting resolution A/RES/47/237 and reflects importance international community attaches to families. Every year, UN secretary-general makes to the particular applicable motto (theme) attention.

Nepal is going to host 2018 Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit. It was announced by Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli during his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kathmandu (capital city ).

• The International Nurse Day (IND) is observed every year on May 12 across world to mark the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, and also mark contribution of nurses towards the society. The theme chosen by International Council of Nurses (ICN) for 2018 IND was ‘

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Tourism Ministers’ conference was held in Wuhan, China. It was first meeting of SCO tourism ministers since the organization was established in 2001 in Shanghai. From India Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism K. J. Alphons attended the conference.

• United States President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew US from historic 2015 Iran nuclear deal or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal signed between Iran and P5+1 countries. It also reimposed sanctions on Iran that were lifted by the JCPOA. Trump administration cited that it cannot prevent Iran nuclear bomb and nuclear deal is defective at its core as it does not target Iran’s ballistic missile programme, its nuclear activities beyond 2025, and its role in conflicts in Yemen and Syria. However other parties to the deal China, France, Russia, UK, Germany and European Union are still supporting it, thus avoiding entire collapse of JCPOA.

• May 3 is celebrated as World Press Freedom Day every year to celebrate fundamental principles of press freedom as well as to evaluate freedom of press around the world. It serves as occasion to defend media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who died while doing their profession.

Business, Economy & Banking

• Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali has tied up with state owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to launch Swadeshi Samriddhi SIM cards. With this, India’s most trusted Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brand has entered in to telecom sector after gaining popularity in the consumer goods market

• India’s National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has established second Digital Collaborative Opportunities Plaza (SIDCOP) platform in Guiyang, China. It is India’s second IT corridor in China to provide Indian IT firms access to growing Chinese software market. The first corridor Digital Collaborative Opportunities Plaza (SIDCOP) platform was established in Chinese port city of Dalian.

• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s most valued and largest IT outsourcing company created history by becoming the first Indian company to reach Rs. 7 lakh crore market capitalisation (m-cap) milestone. M-cap is value of company that is traded on stock market, calculated by multiplying total number of shares by present share price.

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Common Service Centres (CSC) Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) signed MoU for providing financial support village level entrepreneurs in CSCs. Through the MoU, SIDBI will extend financial support to VLEs of CSCs, with minimum one year of operation, under its Direct Financing Window.

India’s largest commodities exchange platform, Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX) launched country’s first copper options contracts. The option contract will provide physical market participants additional instrument to hedge their price risk. The copper option contracts were launched with lot size of 1 tonne in three contracts expiring in June, August and November 2018.

• According to AfrAsia Bank Global Wealth Migration Review, India is the sixth wealthiest country in the world with total wealth of $8,230 billion. US is richest nation globally with total wealth of $62,584 billion. Total wealth refers to private wealth held by all individuals living in each country. It includes all their assets (cash, equities, property, business interests) less any liabilities. It excludes government funds.

• India has dragged United States (US) to World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Dispute Settlement Mechanism over imposition of import duties on steel and aluminium. India stated that decision will of imposition of import duties impact its exports of these products to US and is not in compliance with global trade norms.

• According to UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP), India’s economy is projected to grow 7.6% in fiscal year 2018-19, making it fastest growing economy in the world. GDP growth in India is expected 7.5 and 7.6% in fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has modified norms for setting up International Financial Services Centres (IFSC) Banking Units (IBUs) by banks in IFSCs. In April 2015, RBI had formulated scheme for setting up of IFSC IBUs by banks in IFSCs.

BSE Ltd (earlier known as Bombay Stock Exchange) became first Indian exchange to be designated as Designated Offshore Securities Market (DOSM) by United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US-SEC).

• Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad’s (IIMA’s) centre for innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship (CIIE) has launched $25 million ‘Bharat Inclusion Initiative’ to fund start-ups. CIIE was founded at IIMA to support entrepreneurs and turn business ideas into viable businesses models. It partners with industry experts, mentors, corporates, IIMA community and investors to help incubate early-stage start-ups.

• According to recently released report by Mercom Communications, India emerged as third largest solar market in world in 2017 behind China and United States. Mercom Communications India is arm of global clean energy consulting firm Mercom Capital Group.

• The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), a top state-run Chinese bank has launched China’s first India-dedicated publicly offered investment fund. The fund has been named as

International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) World Employment and Social Outlook Report has that projected increase in surface temperature due to global warming will lead to around 2,59,000 job losses in India by 2030, especially in carbon-and resource-intensive industries.

• According to recently released report ‘RemitSCOPE – Remittance markets and opportunities – Asia and the Pacific’, India was largest remittance receiving country in the world with US $69 billion in 2017. Top five remittance receiving countries in 2017 in the world were India ($69 billion), China ($64 billion) and Philippines ($33 billion), Pakistan ($20 billion), and Vietnam ($14 billion).

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has put state-run lender Dena Bank under prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. It has barred Dena Bank from extending fresh credit in view of deteriorating financial health due to mounting non-performing assets (NPAs) and mounting losses. It makes Dena Bank first lender to face curbs on lending under PCA framework.

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Outlook report has reaffirmed that India will be the fastest growing major economy in 2018, with growth rate of 7.4% and 7.8% in 2019.

• India was ranked 6th on Global Optimism Index released as part of Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR) in the first quarter of 2018. The report was prepared based on the results of a survey of 2,500 businesses in 37 economies.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council in its 27th meeting chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced new and simplified return filing process. It was approved based on recommendations of Group of Ministers on IT simplification for GST implementation.

• India was ranked 11th position in the FDI Confidence Index 2018 released by global consultancy firm A T Kearney. It has slipped by three notches in 2018 as it was ranked 8th in 2017 and 9th in 2016. This is first time India fell out of the top 10 since 2015.

• The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 51.6 in April 2018 form from 51 in March 2018. It indicates faster improvement in health of India’s manufacturing economy than in prior month.

• According to index of eight core industries released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, core sector growth in March 2018 slowed to 4.1%, a three-month low due to weak performance in six sectors. These sectors are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel and electricity. Cumulatively, the eight core sectors grew 4.2% in 2017-18. The growth was 4.8% in the previous fiscal. The previous low was 3.8% in December 2017.

• HDFC Bank has launched Interactive Robotic Assistant (IRA) 2.0, an interactive humanoid at its Koramangala Branch in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The interactive humanoid aims to enhance user experience for customers visiting in this branch.

Government Schemes

State run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) has distributed over 30 crore light emitting diode (LED) bulbs across country under zero-subsidy Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme. The distribution of 30 crore LED bulbs has led to energy savings of over 38,952 million kWh, annually, amounting to energy savings of Rs. 15,581 crore.

• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched full-fledged Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP). It aims to train over 5.5 lakh workers in environment and forest sectors in the country through 30 courses by 2021 for sustainable conservation and management of natural resources. GSDP-ENVIS mobile application was also launched to provide more information and applying to courses under GSDP programme.

• Recently, a meeting of stakeholders on Samarth Scheme (Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector) under Skill India Mission was held in New Delhi to familiarize the stakeholders about scheme and its guidelines. The meeting was chaired by Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani. It was attended by the senior officials of Textiles Ministry, institutions and organizations under it, representatives of textile industry, State Governments, training institutions among others.

Four States and one Union Territory have signed first MoU with National Health Mission, Government of India for implementing Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission (PMRSSM). These states/UTs are Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh (UT).

• The Union Government has signed $200 million loan agreement with World Bank for National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan) for 315 districts across all states and union territories. The loan proceeds will be used for reducing stunting in children 0-6 years of age from 38.4% to 25% by 2022 under POSHAN Abhiyaan.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved continuation of Umbrella Scheme, Green Revolution – Krishonnati Yojana in agriculture sector beyond 12th Five Year Plan from 2017-18 to 2019-20. The Umbrella scheme comprises of 11 Schemes and Missions.

Awards & Honors

• Polish author Olga Tokarczuk (56) awarded Man Booker International Prize 2018. It makes her first writer from Poland to win this prestigious English-language literary award. She won prize with English translation of her novel Flights, which charts multiple journeys in time, space and human anatomy. It was first published in Polish language in 2007 and was translated into English in 2017 by Jennifer Croft.

• India’s Navy all six women crew of INSV Tarini who completed India’s first all-women circumnavigation expedition of the globe was conferred prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017. The crew included Lt Commander Vartika Joshi, Lt Commander Swathi Patarpalli, Lt Commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lt Aishwarya Bodapatti, Lt SH Vijaya Devi and Lt Payal Gupta. These six women were among recipients of Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017 who were presented with award by President Ram Nath Kovind on occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8). However, the award was not be presented to them, as they were sailing then.

• The founder of Sulabh International, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak was honoured with the Nikkei Asia Prize in Japan for his contribution to Asia’s development. Dr Pathak was described as Indian social reformer tackling two of his country’s biggest challenges — poor hygiene and discrimination. He was among three who were conferred with this award.

Sports

• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has signed Letter of Intent (LoI) with UN Environment to promote green’ cricket in India. The partnership aims to spread greater awareness about key environmental challenges India is facing and highlight alternate and more sustainable solutions.

• The Union Cabinet has approved an ordinance to set up the country’s first national sports university in in Imphal (west), Manipur. The ordinance is on the lines of National Sports University Bill, 2017 which is pending in Parliament (introduced in Lok Sabha in August, 2017).

Current Affair May 2018

Share with your Friends

Join The Discussion

Comments ( 0 )

Month Wise: Current Affair May 2018

Current Affair May 2018

Share with your Friends

Join The Discussion

Comments ( 0 )