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Current Affairs –May 2018

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Current Affairs ─ May 2018

This is a guide to provide you a precise summary and a huge collection of Multiple Choice

Questions (MCQs) covering national and international current affairs for the month of May 2018.

This guide will help you in preparing for Indian competitive examinations like Bank PO,

Banking, Railway, IAS, PCS, UPSC, CAT, GATE, CDS, NDA, MCA, MBA, Engineering, IBPS, Clerical Gradeand Officer Grade, etc.

Audience

Aspirants who are preparing for different competitive exams like Bank PO, Banking,

Railway, IAS, PCS, UPSC, CAT, GATE, CDS, NDA, MCA, MBA, Engineering, IBPS, Clerical Grade, Officer Grade, etc.

Even though you are not preparing for any exams but are willing to have news

encapsulated in a roll, which you can walk through within 30 minutes, then we have put all the major points for the whole month in a precise and interesting way.

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Table of Contents

Current Affairs ─ May 2018 ................................................................................................................................

Audience........................................................................................................................................................... i

Copyright and Disclaimer .................................................................................................................................. i

Table of Contents............................................................................................................................................. ii

APPOINTMENTS .......................................................................................................................... 1

AWARDS ..................................................................................................................................... 4

BOOKS & AUTHORS ..................................................................................................................... 6

COMMITTEES .............................................................................................................................. 7

DEATHS ..................................................................................................................................... 10

DEFENCE ................................................................................................................................... 13

ECONOMIC ............................................................................................................................... 18

ENVIRONMENT ......................................................................................................................... 24

FINANCE.................................................................................................................................... 26

IMPORTANT DAYS ..................................................................................................................... 34

INTERNATIONAL ........................................................................................................................ 36

MISCELLANEOUS ....................................................................................................................... 46

NATIONAL ................................................................................................................................. 48

PERSONS IN NEWS .................................................................................................................... 78

PLACES IN NEWS ....................................................................................................................... 80


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REGIONAL ................................................................................................................................. 85

REPORTS ................................................................................................................................... 94

RESIGNATIONS & RETIREMENTS ............................................................................................... 98

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 99

SPORTS ................................................................................................................................... 102


1

1. Sitanshu Kar took over as DG of Press Information Bureau Mr Sitanshu Ranjan Kar, a 1983 batch officer of Indian

Information Service, took over as the 27th Principal

Spokesperson of the Government of India and Director General

of Press Information Bureau. He succeeds Mr Frank Noronha.

Mr Kar has worked in key positions in various Media Units of the

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. In 1988, he became

the first Indian to win the prestigious Visnews Fellowship of

London in a world-wide competition. Mr Kar joined the Press

Information Bureau in 2003.

2. Subhash Chandra Khuntia appointed as new IRDAI Chairman The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet

(ACC) has appointed Subhash Chandra

Khuntia as the Chairman of Insurance

Regulatory and Development Authority of

India (IRDAI) for a period of three years. A

1981-batch Indian Administrative Services

(IAS) officer, Mr Khuntia was a former

Karnataka Chief Secretary.

Mr Khuntia will replace TS Vijayan. He has also

served in various government departments

including as Secretary at the Department of

School Education & Literacy, Special Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Ministry of

Petroleum and Natural Gas.

3. ICICI Bank named Radhakrishnan Nair as Independent Director ICICI Bank has appointed Radhakrishnan Nair to its board

as an Additional (Independent) Director. His appointment

will be for a period of five years. Mr Nair has around forty

years of experience in the banking industry and in the field

of securities and insurance regulation.

Mr. Nair is an independent Director of three subsidiaries of

the Bank - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company

Limited, ICICI Prudential Trust Limited and ICICI

Securities Primary Dealership Limited. In March 2010, he

joined Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority

of India (IRDAI) as Member (Finance and Investment).

Appointments


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4. FB appointed product exec Chris Daniels to take over WhatsApp Facebook’s Vice President of Product Chris Daniels

will be taking over WhatsApp after Co-founder Jan

Koum announced his resignation. Chris Daniels

who was looking after the project Internet.org, the

company’s effort to bring free internet services to

the masses has been given additional charge of

WhatsApp. In his new role, Daniels will report to

Facebook Chief Product Officer Chris Cox.

Chris Daniels has experience of working with

Facebook for more than seven years and

previously worked for Microsoft in product

management.

5. Uttam Pacharne appointed as Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi Eminent artist and sculptor, Shri Uttam

Pacharne was appointed as regular Chairman of

Lalit Kala Akademi by President of India. Shri

Pacharne is an eminent artist and sculptor.

Presently, he is a member of advisory

committee, Kala Academy, Goa and member of

advisory committee, P.L. Deshpande State Lalit

Kala Academy and Director, Janseva Sahakari

Bank Borivali.

He is the recipient of National Lalit Kala Award

1985, Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar 1985 from Government of Maharashtra, Junior

National Award 1986 and Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar 2017 from Prafulla Dahanukar

Foundation.

6. Google appointed Nitin Bawankule as head of India Cloud Business Nitin Bawankule was appointed as head of India

Cloud Business. Prior to this, he was head of

sales for its ecommerce, retail and classifieds

and education businesses. He has been

associated with Google for more than six years.

Nitin Bawankule has served at firms like Dell,

Motorola Mobility, Whirlpool and Godrej GE

Appliances and has an experience of more than

20 years.

It has been estimated that public cloud services

market in India is poised to reach $4.10 billion

by 2020. Cloud computing is an emerging technology that helps business to quickly

improve service delivery capabilities.


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7. Anil Kumar Jha Appointed CMD of Coal India The Appointments Committee of the

Cabinet has approved the appointment of Anil

Kumar Jha as the new Chairman and Managing

Director (CMD) of Coal India Limited. He has

been appointed to the post till his

superannuation i.e. January 31, 2010.

Jha had replaced Coal Ministry's Additional

Secretary Suresh Kumar. Prior to his

appointment, he was the CMD of Mahanadi

Coalfields Ltd. CIL is a state-owned coal mining

company headquartered in Kolkata.

8. Stacey Cunningham appointed as the first Woman Chief of NYSE Stacey Cunningham became the first Woman

Chief of the New York Stock Exchange making

her the first woman to be the sole head of the

226-year-old market. Stacey was Chief

Operating Officer of NYSE and will replace Tom

Farley.

Cunningham became NYSE's COO in June

2015. She joined NYSE in 1994. With Stacey's

promotion, two of the top three U.S. stock

exchange operators are led by women. Adena Friedman became chief executive officer of Nasdaq Inc. in 2017.

9. BHEL appointed Pravin Agrawal as its new Director Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited has appointed

Pravin L Agrawal as part-time official director

on its board. Agrawal is presently joint

secretary in the Department of Heavy Industry

(DHI), Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public

Enterprises.

Agrawal has varied experience in public policy

and governance issues. Bharat Heavy

Electricals Limited (BHEL) owned and founded

by the Government of India, is India's largest

power generation equipment manufacturer.


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10. Justice CK Prasad appointed as Chairman of Press Council of India for a second term A three-member committee headed by Vice

President Venkaiah Naidu has appointed

former Supreme Court Judge, Justice

Chandramauli Kumar Prasad as the Chairman

of the Press Council of India (PCI) for a second

term. Justice Prasad had taken over from

Justice Markanday Katju in November, 2014.

The Press Council of India is a statutory body

with a mandate to act as a watchdog to

oversee the conduct of the print media.

11. Airtel Payments Bank appointed Anubrata Biswas as MD and CEO Airtel Payments Bank has appointed Anubrata

Biswas as its Managing Director & CEO. Prior to

his appointment, Biswas was working with ICICI

Bank as Joint General Manager and Retail

Business Head - South India. He will replace

Shashi Arora who had quit the payments bank

after nearly a 12-year stint with Bharti Airtel

group.

In his new role, Anubrata will be responsible for

driving Airtel Payments Bank’s mission of taking

convenient and innovative digital banking

services to the doorstep of every Indian.


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1. Legendary Singer Asha Bhosle honoured with PC Chandra Puraskaar Legendary singer Asha Bhosle was honoured

with 26th PC Chandra Puraskaar for her

contribution in the field of Indian music. In a

career spanning over seven decades, Asha

Bhosle is known for her breathtaking range

and versatility.

The PC Chandra Puraskaar recognises people

from various walks-of-life, who have achieved

phenomenal success in their fields. The

previous recipients of the awards are Manna

De (1993), Sunil M Gavaskar (1995), Gulzaar (1997), Sourav Ganguly (2011) to name a

few.

2. President of India presented 65th National Film Awards The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented the 65th National Film Awards.

The key winners are:

Dada Saheb Phalke Award: Vinod

Khanna

Best Director: Jayaraj for Bhayanakam

(Malayalam)

Best Film: Village Rockstars

(Assamese)

Best Popular Film: Baahubali 2

Best Regional Film: Ladhakh

Best Hindi Film: Newton

Best Special Effects: Baahubali 2

Best Supporting Actress: Divya Dutta, Irada (Hindi Film)

Best Supporting Actor: Fahad Faazil

Best Actress: Sridevi for Mom

Best Actor: Ridhhi Sen, Nagar Kirtan

3. Nobel Prize in literature 2018 cancelled The Swedish Academy has announced that it

would not hand out the Nobel Prize in Literature

this year following allegations of sexual

misconduct, financial malpractice and repeated

leaks. The Academy will announce two laureates

in 2019 instead.

The honour has not been awarded at all on

seven occasions since its launch in 1901.

Awarding of the 2018 Nobel prizes in other

categories would not be affected.

Awards


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4. Nisha Bhalla honored with 'WEF 2018' Award 46 years old Mumbai coach ‘Nisha Bhalla’ was

honored with 'Excellent Woman of

Excellence' award at Annual Women Economic

Forum (WEF) 2018 Awards. She was honored for

her spiritual service.Nisha Bhalla provides

coaching for holistic courses at her institute 'Sai

Institute of Kosmic Sciences' in Mumbai. Prior to

this award, she has received numerous national

level awards.

An associate of ALL Ladies League, the Women

Economic Forum (WEF) is a global conference to foster empowering conversations and

connections among women committed to foster constructive change in all walks of life.

5. Prof Muhammad Yunus honored with KISS Humanitarian Award 2018 Prof. Muhammad Yunus, founder of the

Grameen Bank, Bangladesh was conferred with

the 11th KISS Humanitarian Award. Prof. Yunus

is the second Nobel Prize awardee to get the

KISS Humanitarian Award after Dalai Lama, the

spiritual leader of Tibet.The KISS Humanitarian

Award was instituted in 2008 by the founder of

KIIT and KISS Dr Achyuta Samanta to honour

and recognise individuals with an exceptionally

high contribution to the society in various fields

related to social issues.

The other prominent individuals who have received the prestigious award are lbina Du

Boisrouvray (FXB International), Switzerland (2015) and Hollywood actor Ashley Judd

(2016).

6. National Geoscience Awards Shri Ram NathKovind, Hon’ble President of

India conferred the National Geoscience

Awards for the year 2017(11 nos.) in New

Delhi. Eleven National Geoscience Awards for

the year 2017 were conferred by the President

on 22 geoscientists for their outstanding

contributions in nine different fields of

geosciences. Dr.ShibSankarGanguli, Indian

Institute of Technology, Kanpur received the

Young Scientist Award – 2017 for his

meritorious contributions in the field of Applied

Geoscience.

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Hon’ble Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and

Mines applauded the awardees for their innovation and research in the fields of

Geosciences.


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7. Lata Mangeshkar honored with Swara Mauli award Veteran melody queen singer Lata

Mangeshkar was honoured with the Swara

Mauli title by spiritual guru

Vidya Narsimha Bharati Swami .Lata

Mangeshkar has an experience of almost a

decade and has received many such honors.

Jagatguru Shankaracharya had earlier

honoured Lata Mangeshkar with Swara Bharati

award.

Lata Mageshkar has also received Bharat

Ratna, the highest civilian award of India and

three national awards. She is the second vocalist, after MS Subbulakshmi to receive Bharat

Ratna. Lata Mangeshkar has sung songs in more than 1000 films and over thirty-six

regional Indian languages and foreign languages.

8. Veteran journalist Mark Tully received Mumbai Press Club's RedInk Award 2018 The RedInk Award for Lifetime Achievement in

Journalism for 2018 was bestowed on veteran

journalist Sir William Mark Tully. The Lifetime

Achievement Award for Mark Tully is the

recognition of his long and outstanding

contribution to Indian journalism. Over several

decades Mark Tully came to personify BBC’s

timely and truthful delivery of news in the

subcontinent. Tully was a front-running

reporter for all major news breaks in South

Asia. He worked with the BBC for a period of

30 years.

The RedInk Award for ‘Journalist of the Year’ was awarded to Faye D’Souza, executive

editor of Mirror Now channel.

9. Anindita honored with Jayadev Rashtriya Yuva Puraskar 2018 UK-based Kathak dancer Anindita Anaam

received Jayadev Rashtriya Yuva Puraskar

2018 for her talent and outstanding

contribution to the field of art. The award

ceremony was held at Bhubaneshwar, Odisha

during four-day Jayadev International dance

festival.

Anindita has experience of working as a

Kathak instructor in Wisconsin with an aim to

popularise the classical dance form globally. She is also famous for her way of blending

two dance forms like jazz and ballet with classical form.


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10. Actress Sridevi honoured at Cannes film festival Famous Bollywood actress Sridevi was

honored with the Reginald F. Lewis Film Icon

Award at the Cannes Film Festival.It was given

to salute the women of the film industry who

left impact on world of cinema. Filmmaker

Subhash Ghai and producer Namrata Goyal

received the award on behalf of late actress

Sridevi.

Sridevi was an Indian actress and film

producer who starred in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi,

Malayalam, and Kannada films. She was known as Indian cinema's first female superstar.

She received National Film Award, two Filmfare Awards and three South Filmfare Awards.

11. India’s Jagriti Yatra bagged charity award in UK Jagriti Yatra, is an Indian charity that

organizes series of worldwide charities. It

recently organized 15-day train journeys

around India to understand and build the India

of smaller towns and villages through

enterprise that has won an award in London.

15 day journey highlights the importance of

building the India of smaller towns and villages

through enterprise.The Cleft Lip and Palate

Association won the Charity of the Year

award for helping those affected by cleft lip

and palate.

Asian Voice Charity Awards are organised by Britains oldest Asian diaspora publication

Asian Voice and Europes first charity ’Charity Clarity’.

12. NMDC bagged S&P PLATTS Global Metals Award 2018 under CSR category NMDC Limited has bagged the prestigious S&P

Global PLATTS Global Metals Award 2018 in

corporate social responsibility (CSR)

category at London. NMDC is the largest iron

ore mining company in India. This is the first

time since inception of this award that an

Indian Company bagged an award in this

category. S&P Global Platts is the leading

independent provider of information,

benchmark prices and analytics for the energy

and commodities markets.

The S&P Global Platts Global Metals Award

recognizes top performers – industry leaders and innovators. The Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) Award recognizes the organization that best demonstrates leadership.


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13. DRDO Awards – 2016 & 2017 presented by Raksha Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman gave away the DRDO Awards- 2016 & 2017 to

various DRDO scientists for their outstanding contributions, while commemorating the

National Technology Day.

DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award

(2017)

Dr VKSaraswat (Former Secretary

Department of Defence R&D)

DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award

(2016)

Dr VasudevKalkunteAatre (Former

Secretary Department of Defence

R&D, Scientific Advisor to Raksha

Mantri and Director General, DRDO)

Technology Leadership Award – 2016 Dr G Satheesh Reddy (Scientific

Advisor to Raksha Mantri,

Distinguished Scientist & Director

General)

14. Japanese director won Cannes' top award Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda won the

top prize, the Palme d'Or, in the 71st Cannes

Film Festival. Kore-eda is only the second Asian

Palme d'Or winner this millennium (after

Thailand's Apichatpong Weerasethakul for

'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past

Lives', 2010).

The Best Director prize went to Poland's Pawel

Pawlikowski for the wonderfully well-crafted

black-and-white 'Cold War', a 1950s story of

impossible love between a music composer and a gifted singer, two strong-willed

individuals from dissimilar backgrounds drawn to each other amid disruptions caused by

history.

15. CSIR won the Clarivate Analytics India Innovation Award 2018 Council of Scientific & Industrial Research has been

awarded the Clarivate Analytics India Innovation Award

2018 in the Government Research Organizations

Category. IIT Bombay has won the award in the Academic

Institutions category. The award places IIT Bombay

among the top 12 innovators in India.

CSIR has a dynamic network of 38 national laboratories,

39 outreach centres, 3 Innovation Complexes and 5

units. According to the SCImago Institutions Ranking

World Report 2017, CSIR has been ranked 9thin the world

amongst the 1207 government institutions, with an overall

global ranking of 75 in the world, covering 5250

institutions.


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16. Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017 presented to the INSV Tarini Team The Six-member all-women team comprising

of Lt Commander Vartika Joshi, Lt Commander

Pratibha Jamwal, Lt Commander Swathi

Patarpalli ,Lt Aishwarya Bodapatti, Lt SH

Vijaya Devi and Lt Payal Gupta have received

the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017.

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind,

had conferred the Nari Shakti Puraskars on

International Women’s Day (08th March 2018)

in Rashtrapati Bhavan. As the INSV Tarini

team was sailing then, the award could not be presented to the team.

17. Singchung Bugun Village Community Reserve won India Biodiversity Award 2018 The Singchung Bugun Village Community

Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh has won the

India Biodiversity Award 2018 in the

“Conservation of Wildlife Species” category

conferred by the National Biodiversity

Authority (NBA) and presented by the Union

Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate

Change.

The tribal members of the Bugun community

of Singchung Village joined hands with the Forest Department to launch the Singchung

Bugun Community Reserve (SBVCR) — a 17 square kilometre hotspot for biodiversity in

January 2017.


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1. English translation of Polish novel 'Flights' won Man Booker Prize Polish author Olga Tokarczuk has won the Man

Booker International Prize for her novel

'Flights'. The novel, translated by Jennifer

Croft, interweaves narratives of travel with

explorations of the human body. It bagged the

67,000 US dollar prize after topping a shortlist

of six titles, with Tokarczuk becoming the first

Polish writer to win the award.

Other finalists included Iraqi writer Ahmed

Saadawi’s horror story 'Frankenstein in

Baghdad' and South Korean author Han Kang’s meditative novel 'The White Book'. The

Man Booker International Prize celebrates the English translations of works of international

literature.

2. Book on ‘Indian Military Judicial System’ released by Chief of Army Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army the

Staffreleased the book 'Across the Bench -

Insight into the Indian Military Judicial System'

by Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan, former Army

Commander and Member 'A', Armed Forces Tribunal, Lucknow Bench.

The book deals with military judicial system

vis-a-vis command and management issues

within the military establishments besides the

whole gamut of issues relating to veterans,

their families and dependents. 'Across the Bench' is the first of its kind that delves into the depths of Military Judicial System.

3. Shri Ashwini Lohani launched ‘Guidebook for Creating a Child Friendly and Protective Environment for Children in Contact with Railways’ A ‘Guidebook for Creating a Child Friendly and

Protective Environment for Children in Contact

with Railways’, developed by National

Commission for protection of Child Rights

(NCPCR) in collaboration with Railway Children

India, was launched at World Habitat. The

document will serve as a framework to develop

child friendly environment at all Railway

Stations.

The launching of ‘The Standard Operating

Procedure for Railways to ensure care and protection of children who are in contact with railways in 2015 served as a pioneering document in successfully protecting children.

Books & Authors


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1. 15th Finance Commission constituted Advisory Council The Fifteenth Finance Commission has constituted an

Advisory Council to advise and assist the Commission. The

role of the Advisory Council will be to advise the

Commission on any issue, assist in the preparation of any

research and help in practices on matters pertaining to fiscal devolution.

Advisory Council will have 6 members named as Arvind

Virmani (President, Forum for Strategic Initiatives), Surjit

S. Bhalla (part-time member of PMEAC), Sanjeev Gupta

(Ex-Deputy Director, IMF), Pinaki Chakraborty, Sajjid

Chinoy (JP Morgan) and Neelkanth Mishra (Credit Suisse India Economist).

2. Committee constituted to probe into black money recovery of PSBs A thirty member estimates committee has

been formed to probe recovery of black money

and performance of public sector banks among

a host of subjects.The parliamentary panel will

be headed by veteran BJP leader Murali

Manohar Joshi. The panel has also been named

continuous economy committee, to study

import of uranium for nuclear plants, mining

activities and environment, upgrading of India

Post offices and the drought situation among

other matters.

On the other hand, Public Accounts Committee has also been looking into the issue of black money recovery after demonitisation.

3. High-level committee approved central assistance of Rs 1,161 crores to states A high level committee chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh approved central

assistance of Rs 1,161.17 crores to states of Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and

Rajasthan and UT of Lakshadweep, affected by floods/ landslides during 2017-18.

Committee included Union Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Shri Ajay Narayan Jha and senior officers of the Ministries of Home Affairs.

Assam Rs 480.87 crore

Himachal Pradesh Rs 84.60 crore

Sikkim Rs 67.40 crore

UT of Lakshadweep Rs 2.16 crore

Rajasthan Rs 526.14 crore

Committees


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4. 15th Finance Commission constituted a High Level Group for enabling balanced expansion of Health Sector

The Fifteenth Finance Commission has

constituted a high level group consisting of

eminent experts from across the country in

Health Sector. Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi will be its Convenor.

The main role and function of the High Level

Groupon Health Sector will be to evaluate the

existing regulatory framework in the Health

sector and examine its strength and

weaknesses for enabling a balanced yet faster expansion of the health sector keeping in

view of India’s demographic profile.

5. Inter-State Council Standing Committee completes deliberations on Punchhi Commission report The Standing Committee of the Inter-State Council (ISC)

has completed the onerous task of deliberations on all the

273 recommendations of the Punchhi Commission. The

ISC is headed by the Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh.

The Punchhi Commission was notified in 2005 submitted

its report in 2010. The Commission made 273

recommendations in its seven volume report. The

recommendations of the Punchhi Commission pertain to

History of Centre-State Relations in India; Constitutional

Governance and Management of Centre-State Relations

etc.


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1. Eminent economist Ashok Mitra passed away Eminent economist and former finance

minister in the Jyoti Basu government in West

Bengal (1977-86), Ashok Mitra, passed away

at the age of 90 years.

Mr Mitra also worked with the Central

Government as the Chief Economic Adviser

and was a member of Rajya Sabha. He also

taught in UN Economic Commission and was

associated with World Bank for many years.

Mitra was also associated with the prestigious

Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) journal in

its formative years.

2. Noted Malayalam novelist Kottayam Pushpanath passed away Renowned detective novelist Kottayam

Pushpanath passed away at the age of 80

years. He has penned more than 300 novels.

Many of his works have been translated into

Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages.

Among his novels, ‘Brahmarakshas’ and

‘Chuvanna Anki’ were later adapted into

movies.Pushpanath is the creator of the two

private detectives Marks and Pushparaj who

were the central characters in most of his

novels. Pushpanath gained popularity after his first novel ‘Chuvanna Manushyan’ was

published in Manorajyam weekly in 1967.

3. Renowned Artist-Philosopher Ravinder Sharma passed away Renowned Artist-Philosopher Ravinder Sharma,

popularly called as "Guruji" passed away at the age

of 65 years. He was the founder of Adilabad’s Kala

Ashram and is credited to playing a vital role in

protecting ancient rural and tribal art forms and

knowledge system of the country for nearly four

decades.

Guruji had been awarded with Kala Ratna by the

Andhra Pradesh State government in 2014. The

Telangana government awarded him the Ugadi

Puraskaram in 2015. Guruji was also conferred the

D. Litt (Honoris Causa) by the SGT University, Gurugram, Haryana.

Deaths


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4. Veteran Marathi Singer Arun Date passed away Veteran Marathi singer Arun Date passed away at the age

of 84 years. He was famous for non-film ‘bhavgeet’

(lyrical poetry) songs. He was known for his popular song

“Shukratara” and “Ya Janmavar”.

Arun Date was the first recipient of the state

government’s ‘Gajananrav Vatave Puraskar’. His song

"Shukratara" was adjudged as song of the month by

Mumbai Radio Station in 1962.

5. Oscar-Winning Film Editor Anne V. Coates died 92 years old Oscar-Winning 'Lawrence of

Arabia' Film Editor ‘Anne V. Coates’ passed

away. She was honored with BAFTA's highest

honour, a BAFTA Fellowship and was given an

Academy Honorary Award (Lifetime

Achievement Oscar).

Some of her best work as editor in films were

Lawrence of Arabia, Becket (1963), The

Elephant Man (1980), In the Line of Fire (1993)

and Out of Sight (1998). She also worked as an

assistant at a production company specializing

in religious films.

6. Veteran poet Balkavi Bairagi passed away Balkavi Bairagi, famous lyricist, poet and

politician passed away. He was known for his

best poem "Jhar gaye paat, bisar gayi tehni".

He was also a politician, a Lok Sabha member

between 1984 and 1989 and a former Rajya

Sabha MP. He wrote songs for more than a

dozen films such as "Tu Chanda Main Chandni"

from the film "Reshma aur Shera", ‘Mujhko bhi

radha bana le” etc.

Many poems were also written by him such as

‘Chand meidhabba’ and ‘Khudhsagar ban jao’. Balkavi Bairagi was popularly named as

Balkavi due to his outstanding work in classical poems.


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7. Margot Kidder, actress of ‘Superman’ passed away at 69 Veteran actress Margot Kidder died at the age

of 69. She was popularly known for her role of

‘Lois Lane’ in four ‘Superman’ film series. She

also worked in movies like Brian De Palma's

Sisters, The Amityville Horror, The Great

Waldo Pepper, the classic Black Christmas and

four Superman films: Superman, Superman II,

Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for

Peace.

Some of her guest roles in television and

movies were Law & Order: SVU, The L Word and the Superman-inspired TV series

Smallville in a non-Lois Lane role.

8. Telugu writer Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani passed away Veteran Telugu writer and novelist

Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani passed away at

the age of 78 years. She has authored over 40

novels and her works mainly centred around

human relationships. She was popular for her

romantic novels.

Some of her most popular works include

Aathmeeyulu, Abhijata, Secretary, and

Jeevana Tarangalu. Many of her literary works

have been adapted to film and TV screenplays.

9. Alan Bean, 4th man to walk on the Moon died Former US astronaut Alan Bean, who was the

fourth man to walk on the Moon, passed away

at the age of 86 years. Bean went into space

twice, the first time in November 1969 as the

lunar module pilot on the Apollo 12 moon-

landing mission. In 1973 he was commander

of the second crewed flight to Skylab -

America's first space station.

Bean retired from NASA in 1981 and carved a

successful career as an artist. His paintings,

inspired by space travel, featured lunar boot prints as well as small pieces of his mission

patches.


17

10. Telugu film personality Madala Ranga Rao died Noted Telugu film personality Madala Ranga

Rao died at the age of 69 years. He was known

for his ‘revolutionary films’ in the 1980s, also

popularly known as the Red Star in Tollywood.

Rao received the prestigious Golden Nandi

award from Andhra Pradesh government for

his film 'Yuvatharam Kadilindhi'. He acted and

produced several films including hits such as

'Yuvatharam Kadilindhi', 'Yerra Mallelu', 'Praja

Shakthi', 'Swarajyam', 'Viplavashankham' and

'Mahaprasthanam'.


18

1. India, Malaysia start first-ever joint military exercise 'Harimau Shakti 2018' Exercise Harimau Shakti 2018, between the

Indian Army and the Malaysian Army was held

at Wardieburn Camp, Kuala Lumpur. This was

the first-ever joint Army exercise between the armies of India and Malaysia.

The exercise was aimed at bolstering

cooperation & coordination between armed

forces of both the nations and to share the

expertise of both the contingents in conduct of

counter insurgency operations in jungle

terrain.

2. South Western Command conducted Exercise Vijay Prahar Formations of South Western Command carried out Exercise

VIJAY PRAHAR employing more than 20000 troops, cutting

edge equipment and state of the art force multipliers in the

Mahajan Field Firing Ranges close to Suratgarh in Rajasthan.

The exercise was aimed to orchestrate wide spectrum of

threats which are planned to be tackled through high tempo

joint air and land operation.

The month-long exercise is essentially to practice the troops

in penetrative manoeuvres across the obstacle ridden terrain under a nuclear umbrella.

3. India ranks among top five defence spenders in the world According to a report prepared by Stockholm

International Peace Research Institute, India

has joined the United States and China as one

of the world’s five biggest military spenders in

2017. India went past France as its defence

spending rose by 5.5% to $63.9 billion in

2017. India was in the fifth spot, after the US, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Total global military expenditure rose to

$1,739 billion in 2017, a marginal increase of 1.1%. China increased its defence spending by 5.6% to an estimated $228 billion in 2017.

Defence


19

4. Final phase of Indo-French naval exercise Varuna held in Reunion Island The Indian and French navies held the final

phase of the Varuna naval exercise near

Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean region. The

exercise was aimed to enhancing the

operational coordination between the two

navies.

The first phase of the exercise involved joint

anti-submarine combat training off the Indian

coast in Goa. The focus of the second phase

was amphibious operations. Reunion Island is

a French island in the Indian Ocean.

5. Army approved Rs 15,000 crore ammunition production project A mega Rs 15,000-crore project was approved

by Indian Army. As per the project, a range of

ammunition for its critical weapons and tanks

will be produced within India to avoid long

delays in imports and address the problem of

a dwindling stockpile. Around 11 private firms

have been finalized to make range of rockets,

air defence system, artillery guns, infantry

combat vehicles, grenade launchers and

various other field weapons under fixed timelines.

Manufacture of these weapons will be monitored by the top brass of the Army and the Defence Ministry.

6. India successfully test- fired BrahMos from Integrated Test Range in Odisha India has successfully test- fired BrahMos,

supersonic cruise missile from the Integrated

Test Range in Balasore, Odisha as part of

service life extension programme. The life

extension test firing of BrahMos was conducted

from a Static Inclined Launcher, proving the efficacy and longevity of the system.

BrahMos is a joint venture between DRDO and

NPOM of Russia. The highly versatile BrahMos

has emerged as the ultimate weapon of choice in modern warfare with its unmatched speed, precision and firepower.


20

7.INSV Tarini completed historic circumnavigation

Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Tarini (INSV Tarini)

entered Goa harbour on completion of a historic

global circumnavigation voyage on 21 May 18.

This was the first-ever Indian circumnavigation

of the globe by an all-women crew. The vessel

was led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika

Joshi, and the crew comprised Lieutenant

Commanders PratibhaJamwal, P Swathi, and

Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta.

During her 254 day long voyage, the vessel has

covered over 22,000 Nautical miles, visiting five countries – Australia, New Zealand,

Falkland Islands (UK), South Africa and Mauritius.

8.Visit of Indian Naval Ships to Danang, Vietnam

As part of ongoing operational deployment of

the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet ships to South

East Asia and North West Pacific region, three

Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri, Shakti and

Kamorta made a port call at Tien Sa Port, Danang from 21-25 May 2018.

The last visit by Indian Navy ship to Vietnam

was in Sep 2017, when two of its ships INS

Satpura and INS Kadmatt visited Hai Phong

port. The current visit seeks to enhance

maritime cooperation between the two Navies and will further bolster the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries.

9. ADA to build next generation defence aircraft The Aeronautical Development Agency has

started working on building the next

generation defence aircraft, the Advanced

Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). The ADA has

extended an invitation to private players in

Coimbatore to build a technology demonstrator.

The project will be implemented in Sulur in

Coimbatore district that may house the

permanent base of the Tejas squadron. It

marks Tamil Nadu’s first major defence aircraft project. ADA had conceived and designed the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.


21

10. India-Nepal Joint Battalion Level Exercise SURYA KIRAN-XIII Joint Military Exercise SURYA KIRAN-XIII

between India and Nepal will be conducted at

Pithoragarh from 30 May to 12 June 2018. The

exercise will comprise of nearly 300 soldiers

from both Indian and Nepal Army who would

be sharing their experiences gained during

conduct of various counter insurgency and

counter terrorism operations in the past.

Exercise SURYA KIRAN is a biannual event

which is conducted alternatively in Nepal and

India. Notably in the series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries, Exercise SURYA KIRAN with Nepal is the largest in terms of troop participation.

11. DAC approved measures to simplify Defence Procurement Procedure The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has

approved various measures to simplify the

defence procurement procedure. These

measures will be incorporated in the DPP-16,

the manual governing the defence procurement procedure.

The significant changes inter-alia include

devolution of powers within the Ministry of

Defence and the Service Headquarters,

concurrent running of the acquisition process

instead of sequential stage clearance, deletion of repetitive processes, aligning of various

documents with revised financial guidelines, amongst others.

12. Commissioning of Fourth Ship of Landing Craft Utility MK-IV

Vice Admiral GS Pabby, AVSM, VSM, Chief of

Materiel commissioned IN LCU L54 into the

Indian Navy. IN LCU L54 is the fourth Landing

Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV class to be inducted

into the Indian Navy. The ship has been

indigenously designed and built by Garden

Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata.

LCU MK-IV ship is an amphibious ship with its

primary role being transportation and

deployment of Main Battle Tanks, Armoured

Vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore. The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art

equipment and advanced systems like Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).


22

13. Rustom-2 drone to be delivered to armed forces by 2020 THE Rustom-II Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

(UAV) will be delivered to the armed forces by

2020. It is being developed by the Defence

Research and Development Organisation

(DRDO). The drone is being developed for use

by all three services of the Indian Armed

Forces, primarily for intelligence, surveillance

and reconnaissance (ISR) operations.

Rustom II has completed one test at

Chitradurga in Karnataka. The medium-

altitude prototype can fly at over 22,000 feet and is a long-endurance UAV that has an 20 hours approximate flight time.

14. S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems: India concludes price negotiations with Russia India has agreed to buy four S-400 Triumf air

defense missile systems for nearly $5.9 billion

(INR 40,000 crore) from Russia. Russia and

India are likely to announce the deal before an

annual summit between Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir

Putin in October.

India and Russia are tryng to find a way out

to protect the deal from the sanctions

announced by the US against Russia under its

Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). India wants to

procure the long-range missile systems to tighten its air defence mechanism, particularly

along the nearly 4,000-km-long Sino-India border.


23

1. BHEL bags order for largest Hydro Power Project in Nepal BHEL has secured an order for executing 900

MW Arun-3 Hydroelectric Project from SJVN

Arun-3 Power Development Company

(SAPDC), Nepal. Once completed, this will be

the largest Hydropower project in Nepal.

Valued at Rs. 536 Crore., the order envisages

design, engineering, manufacturing, supply,

erection and commissioning of Electro-

Mechanical equipment involving supply of four

Vertical Francis Turbines and Generator sets,

each rated 225 MW.

BHEL is currently executing hydro projects of over 2,700 MW capacity in the country and

2,940 MW in Bhutan which are under various stages of implementation.

2. Core sector growth rate slows to 4.1% in March The growth of eight core sectors slowed to a

three-month low of 4.1% in March. Six sectors

- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery

products, steel and electricity had weak

performance. The other two sectors are

fertilisers and cement.

The growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors

was 5.2% in March 2017. Cumulatively, the

eight core sectors grew by 4.2% in 2017-18,

lowest in the last three financial years. The

growth was 4.8% in the previous fiscal and 3%

in 2015-16.

3. GST Revenue collection in the month of April 2018 exceeds Rs. 1 Lakh Crore The total Gross GST revenue collected in the

month of April 2018 is Rs.1,03,458 crore of

which CGST is Rs18,652 crore, SGST is

Rs.25,704 crore, IGST is Rs. 50,548 crore

(including 21,246 crore collected on imports)

and Cess is Rs.8554 crore (including Rs.702

crore collected on imports).

The total revenue earned by the Central

Government and the State Governments after

settlement in the month of April, 2018 is Rs.32,493 crore for CGST and Rs.40,257 crore

for the SGST.

Economic


24

4. Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) through tourism (in Rs. terms) 1. FEEs during the month of March 2018

were Rs.17,294 crore as compared

to Rs. 14,667 crore in March 2017

and Rs. 12,985 crore in March 2016.

2. The growth rate in FEEs in rupee terms

in March 2018 over March 2017 was

17.9%, compared to the growth of

13.0% in March 2017 over March 2016.

3. FEEs during the period January- March

2018 were Rs. 52,916 crore with a

growth of 15.5%, as compared to the

FEE of Rs. 45,819 crore in January-March 2017 with a growth of 13.6% over

January- March 2016.

5. Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) through tourism (in US $ terms) 1. FEEs in US$ terms during the month of

March 2018 were US$ 2.659 billion as

compared to FEEs of US$ 2.224 billion

during the month of March 2017

and US$ 1.938 billion in March 2016.

2. The growth rate in FEEs in US$ terms

in March 2018 over March 2017 was

19.6% compared to the growth of

14.8% in March 2017 over March 2016.

3. FEEs during the period January-March

2018 were US$ 8.228 billion with a

growth of 20.4% as compared to the FEE of US$ 6.833 billion in January- March

2017 with a growth of 14.4% over January- March 2016.

6. NTPC Targets 268 BU Power Generation for the Year 2018-19 NTPC, India’s largest power generating

company is aiming at generating 268 billion

units (BU) of electricity during the fiscal year

2018-19, under a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) signed between NTPC

and Ministry of Power.

Revenue from Operations is targeted at Rs

85,500 Crore. Parameters related to financial

performance, improvement in operational efficiency, capital expenditure, projects

monitoring, technology upgradation and HR Management are also part of the MOU for the

year 2018-19.


25

7. Cognizant acquired Belgium-Based Hedera Consulting Cognizant has acquired privately-held Hedera

Consulting. The purchase further expands

Cognizant's consulting, business insight and

digital transformation capabilities for clients in

Belgium and the Netherlands. The terms of the

transaction were not disclosed.

Hedera Consulting, founded in 2009, is a

consulting company specialized in growth

strategy, digitization, innovation and

commercial excellence for clients across

industries, including financial services and utilities. Headquartered in the U.S., Cognizant

is ranked 205 on the Fortune 500.

8. PGCIL signed pact with power ministry for Rs.25,000 crore capex Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has

signed a memorandum of understanding

(MoU) with the Ministry of Power to incur

capital expenditure of Rs.25,000 crore for the

current fiscal. The MoU includes various

targets to be achieved by Powergrid during

2018-19.

As on March 31, 2018, the company owns and

operates over 148,800 ckt. km. of

transmission lines, 236 EHV sub-stations with

transformation capacity of more than 322,000 MVA.

9. GSTN to be converted into Government entity The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council

has approved a proposal to convert GST

Network, the IT backbone of GST, into a

government-owned entity. The central

government currently owned 24.5% in GSTN

and state governments held 24.5%. The

remaining 51% was with five private financial

institutions - HDFC Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI

Bank Ltd, NSE Strategic Investment Co and

LIC Housing Finance Ltd.

With the new changes, the central government will own 50% and the remaining would be

collectively held by state governments.


26

10. Central Statistics Office released index of industrial production estimates The quick estimates of Index of Industrial

Production (IIP) with base 2011-12 for the

month of March 2018 were released by the

Central Statistics Office of the Ministry of

Statistics and Programme Implementation.

The General Index for the month of March

2018 stands at 139.0, which is 4.4 percent

higher as compared to the level in the month

of March 2017. The cumulative growth stood

at 4.3%.

The Indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors

for the month of March 2018 stood at 131.3, 138.6 and 156.7 respectively.

11. IMF predicted India to grow at 7.4% in 2018 The International Monetary Fund predicted that India is expected

to grow at 7.4% in 2018 and 7.8% in 2019 and would re-emerge

as one of the fastest growing major economies in the period. The

IMF explained this is due to the strong private consumption as

well as fading transitory effects of the currency exchange

initiative and implementation of the national goods and services

tax. Bangladesh is predicted to be the fastest-growing economy

in South Asia.

As per the report, the consumer price increase in 2017 was 3.6%

and predicted it to be 5% in 2018 and 2019.

12. Indian Tea Industry registered highest ever production India’s tea industry registered the highest ever

production as well as exports in FY18. The

total tea production stood at 1325.05 million

kgs, an increase of 74.56 million kgs (6%) as

compared to 2016-17. The total export during

2017-18 increased by 28.94 million kg or

12.71% as compared to the corresponding

period last year.

Exports registered growth at 227.63 million kg

in 2016-17. The major export driven countries

were Egypt (increased by 7.49 million kgs), Iran (increased by 6.95 million kgs), Pakistan

(increased by 4.96 million kgs) and China (increased by 2.91 million kgs).


27

13. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and UAE minister flagged off 1st cargo of ADNOC crude oil Petroleum Minister Pradhan and UAE minister

flagged off first consignment of ADNOC crude

for India.They jointly initiated the filling of the

crude oil carrier vessel with 2 million barrels of

crude oil belonging to Abu Dhabi National Oil

Company of UAE. ADNOC’s investment by way

of crude oil in Indian SPR facility is the first

time that a private foreign entity, is filling up

an Indian SPR cavern with crude oil.

The Agreement stipulated that during an

emergency oil shortage situation the Indian government can use the entire available crude

oil stored by ADNOC in the Mangalore SPR facility for its use.

14. Fitch report predicted 7.3% growth rate of India in 2018-19 Fitch Group Company, has released a report

known as BMI Research report. Fitch has

projected India's GDP growth at 7.3% for the

financial year 2018-19. It also predicted that

the growth will accelerate further to 7.5% in

2019-20. According to Fitch, positive signs are

observed in third quarter due to investment

segment to be pushing growth rate once again.

Fitch Ratings Inc. is one of the "Big Three credit

rating agencies", the other two being Moody's

and Standard & Poor's.

15. India became largest remittance receiving country in world World Bank's latest migration and

development brief report was topped by India.

According to World Bank, India topped as the

highest recipient of remittances globally in

2017. Indians residing abroad sent back $69

billion. The second in the list was China with

$64 billion followed by Philippines ($33

billion), Mexico ($31 billion), Nigeria ($22

billion), and Egypt ($20 billion).

India had received $70.4 billion in 2014.

Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, grew 7% to $613 billion

in 2017.


28

16. Bharti Airtel completed acquisition of Telenor India Telenor entered into a definitive agreement with Bharti Airtel Limited whereby Airtel took

full ownership of Telenor India. As the new

owner, Airtel acquired Telenor India’s spectrum,

licenses and operations, including its employees

and customer base of 44 million. As part of the

agreement, Airtel acquired outstanding

spectrum payments and other operational

contracts, including tower lease.

Telenor Group is one of the world’s major mobile operators. Telenor announced its entry

into India in 2008. Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company

with operations in 17 countries across Asia and Africa.

17. India’s GDP predicted at 7.6% in 2018-19 by UN WESP According to the World Economic Situation and

Prospects as of mid-2018, India's economy is

projected to grow 7.5%% in 2017-18 and

7.6% in fiscal year 2018-19.World gross

product is expected to expand by 3.2 per cent

in both 2018 and 2019.GDP pf Chinese

economy was projected to gradually moderate

from 6.9% in 2017 to 6.5% in 2018.

The report underscores that the risks have

increased as well and highlights the need to

urgently address a number of policy

challenges.GDP growth forecasts in 2018 have been upwardly revised in nearly 40% of

countries.

18. India launched WTO complaint against U.S. over tariffs on Steel, Aluminium India has launched a complaint against the

United States to the World Trade Organization,

WTO, to challenge US President Donald

Trump's tariffs on Steel and Aluminium.

Mr Trump imposed the tariffs in March, levying

25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on

Aluminium. India, China, Russia, Japan,

Turkey and the European Union have all

dismissed that claim, regarding the U.S. tariffs

as "safeguards" under the WTO rules, entitling

them to a combined 3.5 billion dollar in annual

compensation.


29

19. ICRA projected India’s Q4 GDP Growth at 7.4% Rating agency ICRA Ltd has projected India's

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the

fourth quarter of the fiscal 2017-18 at 7.4%

on account of good rabi crop harvest and

improved corporate earnings, up from 7.2% in

the third quarter.

As per ICRA, the growth of the Indian gross

value added (GVA) at basic prices in year-on-

year (YoY) terms is likely to record a

considerable recovery to 7.3% in Q4 FY2018

from 6.7% in Q3 FY2018.

20. TCS becomes India’s first company to cross Rs 7 Lakh Crore in Market Capitalisation Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) became the

first Indian company to hit the Rs 7 lakh crore

market capitalisation milestone. TCS had

become the first Indian information

technology firm to cross the $100 billion

(about Rs 6.7 lakh crore) mark in April 2018.

Market Capitalisation is the value of a

company that is traded on the stock market,

calculated by multiplying the total number of

shares by the present share price.


30

1. 14 out of world’s 20 most polluted cities in India: WHO According to a list of most polluted cities based

on the amount of particulate matter under 2.5

micrograms found in every cubic metre of air

released by the World Health Organisation

(WHO), 14 Indian cities figure among the

world’s 20 most polluted. Kanpur tops the list.

The other Indian cities in the list were Delhi,

Varanasi, Faridabad, Gaya, Patna, Agra,

Muzaffarpur, Srinagar, Gurgaon, Jaipur,

Patiala and Jodhpur. The PM2.5 includes

pollutants like sulfate, nitrate and black

carbon, which pose the greatest risk to human health.

2. Global warming is causing harmful algal growth A team of Indian and American scientists from

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information

Services and the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), led by

Aneesh Lotliker, have found that global

warming was resulting into harmful algal

growth in the Arabian Sea.

Algae Noctiluca, popularly known as sea

sparkle as it glows in the dark, is said to be

deleterious to aquatic life and ecosystems. The

algae excrete ammonia toxic to ocean life, and also thrive on fish-food in the food chain.

3. First organized census for Indus dolphins to be carried out in India Punjab government has started a census to

count the Indus dolphins in Beas river. The

programme is supported by the World Wildlife

Fund (WWF). Indus dolphins is one of the

world’s rarest mammals found only in India

and Pakistan.

The Indus dolphins are confined to only a 180-

km stretch between Talwara and Harike

Barrage in Beas river. The International Union

for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) suspects the population size of the Indus river dolphins

has reduced by more than 50% since 1944.

Environment


31

1. HDFC Bank launched IRA 2.0, an interactive humanoid in Bengaluru HDFC Bank has launched IRA 2.0, its

interactive humanoid. IRA 2.0 will enhance

user experience for customers visiting the

Koramangala branch in Bengaluru. It will

interact with customers, answer bank-related

queries, frequently asked questions, and guide

them inside the branch with voice-based

navigation. HDFC Bank also launched its virtual

assistant ‘EVA’ on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

IRA 2.0 has been developed by HDFC Bank in

collaboration with its technology partners Invento Makerspaces and Senseforth

Technologies. HDFC became the first bank in India to introduce a humanoid for customer service when IRA was first launched in January 2017.

2. EPFO introduced ‘View Pension Passbook’ Service for the pensioners through Umang App Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation

(EPFO) has now introduced a new service

through ‘UMANG app’. The facility to download

the financial year wise complete pass book details is available.

Other e-services of EPFO already available

through UMANG aap includes Employee Centric

services (View EPF Passbook, Raise claim,

Track Claim), Employer Centric Services (Get

remittance details by establishment ID, Get

TRRN Status), General Services (Search Establishment, Search EPFO Office, Know Your

claim Status, Account details on SMS, Account details on Missed Calls), Pensioner Services (Update Jeevan Praman), eKYC services (Aadhaar Seeding).

3. RBI announced Rs. 10,000 Crore Bond Purchases The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has anounced

to buy Rs. 10,000 crore ($1.50 billion) of

government bonds via open market operation

(OMO), after failing to sell all the debt it had

offered to bidders. It was the third straight

week when the RBI couldn't sell everything on offer, leading to a spike in bond yields.

The RBI bought 8.12% 2020 bond, 6.84%

2022 bond, 7.72% 2025 bond, 6.79% 2027

bond, and 8.24% 2033. Since the start of

2018, the yield on the 10-year benchmark bond has gained 40 basis points to 7.73%.

Finance


32

4. YES Bank launched capacity building project for Haryana and Rajasthan farmers YES Bank launched a CSR initiative capacity

building project with farmers in Haryana and

Rajasthan, across 15 districts under its ‘Livelihood

and Water Security’ CSR initiative. The aim of this

project is to create awareness on sustainable

agricultural practices and inculcate digital literacy

among farmers. YES bank will provide finance as well as digital banking resources to farmers.

YES BANK, since 2014, has provided more than 50

million beneficiaries access to safe and clean drinking water through its ‘Livelihood and

Water Security’ CSR intervention by installing water purification systems and Water ATMs.

5. ICBC launched China's first India-dedicated investment fund The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

launched India’s first publicly offered

investment fund named as ICBC Credit Suisse

India Market Fund. The fund will invest in

exchange-traded funds listed on more than 20

exchanges in Europe and the US that are based

on the Indian market.

ICBC Credit Suisse India Market Fund will

invest in future of the Indian economy.

According to ICBC, they will benefit as

investing in the Indian market means an

investor can enjoy double-digit economic growth because India's GDP is already close to 7%of the world.

6. Paytm launched automatic recurring payments Paytm’s new feature ‘My Payments’ will be for

customers to make high value payments.

PayTm customers can avail facility of

automatic recurring payments by giving

standing instructions on their own. PayTm

customers will have to use ‘My Payments’

feature and create standing instructions for

high value payments such as Internet bill, electricity bill etc.

This facility will ease burden on customers on

monthly expenses by automating all regular payments. Paytm is an Indian e-commerce payment system and digital wallet company.


33

7. Fino Payments Bank launched digital suite of products Fino Payments Bank launched a suite of digital

products that can be accessed online and

through mobile phones. Fino Payments Bank’s

digital initiatives will help reach out to a larger

segment of customers. Fino Payment’s Bank digital products include-

1. Unified Payments Interface (UPI), BHIM

app, game changer in P2P and merchant

payments.Customers can access UPI, create

virtual identity and make P2P payments.

2. Net Banking

3. Digi Savings Account: online account opening with only Aadhaar number and PAN card

4. FasTag: make digital payments at national highway toll plazas

8. BSE became first Indian stock exchange to get US SEC’s DOSM recognition BSE Ltd., Asia’s first stock exchange, has

received recognition as a ‘Designated Offshore

Securities Market’ (DOSM) from the United

States Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC). BSE, becomes the first

stock exchange in India to receive DOSM

recognition and now joins an elite list of foreign

securities exchanges that have been recognized as DOSMs by the SEC.

DOSM status allows sale of securities to US

investors through the trading venue of BSE

without registration of such securities with the US SEC and thus eases the trades by US investors in India.

9. YES Bank launched agenda 25×25 `YES BANK and YES Global Institute launched

Agenda 25x25, which pledges to create a

synergetic startup environment for budding

women entrepreneurs in India, ensuring that

by 2025 at least 25% of all Entrepreneurs in

India are Women. It was announced at ‘Annual

Startup Conclave’ organized by NITI Aayog,

Invest India, Startup India and Atal Innovation

Mission.

YES BANK also signed two agreements

with iStart Rajasthan and FITT, IIT Delhi,

wherein the bank will extend its in-house startup expertise, as part of its YES Head Startup

program. iStart Rajasthan is a flagship initiative intended to create jobs and facilitate

investment.


34

10. Finance ministry tied up with 40 entities for extending loans to small entrepreneurs The finance ministry has tied up with 40

entities including Flipkart, Swiggy, Patanjali

and Amul for extending loans to small

entrepreneurs under the Mudra scheme. These

companies will identify people who need loans

under Mudra Yojana, underwrite them and we

will extend loans under the scheme.

PMMY was launched by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on April 8, 2015, for providing

loans of up to Rs 10 lakh to the non-corporate,

non-farm small/micro enterprises. The government has extended Rs 2.53 lakh crore credit

under the Mudra Yojana in FY 2017-18, while Rs 5.73 lakh crore has been extended in last

3 years.

11. RBI imposed Rs 5-cr Penalty on South Indian Bank The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has slapped a

fine of Rs 5 crore on South Indian Bank (SIB)

for non-compliance to RBI's directions on

Income Recognition and Asset Classification

(IRAC) norms, Know Your Customer (KYC)

norms and treasury function.

South Indian Bank reported divergence in

asset classification of provisioning towards

non-performing assets (NPAs) in comparison

to RBI's assessment for 2016-17. The gap with

respect to gross NPAs was Rs 8.39 crore, while for net NPAs, the divergence came in at negative Rs 15.13 crore.

12. SIDBI to provide financial support to Village Level Entrepreneurs Small Industries Development Bank of India

(SIDBI) will provide financial support to Village

Level Entrepreneurs who operate the Common

Service Centres that act as access points for

delivery of electronic services.

A memorandum of Understanding, MoU, was

signed between SIDBI and Common Service

Centres (CSCs) for providing financial support

to such centres across the country. The

existing VLEs (village level entrepreneurs) who

have been operating CSCs for at least one year and looking to expand their operations are

eligible for availing the financial support under the MoU, which is initially eyeing 50,000

VLEs.


35

13. SBI reports record loss of Rs 7,718 crore in Q4 State Bank of India (SBI) reported a record

standalone net loss of Rs 7,718 crore in the

fourth quarter (January-March) of the fiscal

year 2017-18. SBI had posted a net profit of

Rs 2,815 crore in same period last year.

Gross NPAs, as a percentage of gross loans,

jumped to 10.91% from 6.90% as on March-

end 2017. Gross NPAs, as a percentage of

gross loans, jumped to 10.91% from 6.90% as

on March-end 2017.

14. MCX Commences Options Trading on Copper Futures Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX)

launched India’s first options contract on

copper futures. This new options contract

provides the optimal tool to hedge and mitigate

price risk in copper for the stakeholders. MCX

copper options are available to trade from 10:00am-11:30pm/11:55pm on weekdays.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited

(MCX) is India’s first listed, national level,

electronic, commodity derivatives exchange. It is also the first exchange to introduce

commodity options in India.

15. MCX launched India’s first silver options Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX)

has launched India’s first options contract on

silver futures. Options contracts expiring in the

months of June‘ 18, August ‘18, November ‘18,

February ‘19 and April ‘19 have been currently

offered for trading with corresponding silver (30 kilograms) futures as underlying.

Mr. Mrugank Paranjape is MD & CEO of MCX.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited

(MCX) is India’s first listed, national level,

electronic, commodity derivatives exchange. It is also the first exchange to introduce commodity options in India.


36

16. Government notified 8.55% interest on PF for 2017-18 Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation

(EPFO) has asked its field offices to credit

8.55% rate of interest for 2017-18 into the

Provident Fund accounts of around 5 crore

subscribers. According to an order issued by

the EPFO, the Labour Ministry has conveyed

approval to credit 8.55% rate of interest for

last fiscal.

The EPFO had provided 8.65% interest for

2016-17.The members got 8.8% in 2015-16 and 8.75% each in 2014-15 and 2013-14. In 2012-13, EPFO had provided 8.5% interest rate on EPF.


37

1. International Labour Day The International Labour Day, also known as May

Day, is celebrated annually on 1st May. The day is

also known as International Workers' Day. The day

is a celebration of labourers and the working classes

that is promoted by the international labour movement.s

In India, the day is celebrated as Antarrashtriya

Shramik Diwas. The theme of International Labour

Day 2018 is “Uniting Workers for Social and

Economic Advancement”.

2. Border Roads Organisation celebrated Raising Day Border Roads Organisation (BRO), celebrated

its Raising Day on 07 May 2018. BRO, a leader

in the arena of infrastructural development in

the border areas of the country is celebrating

its 58 years of glorious service to the nation.

Since its inception in 1960, BRO has grown from 02 to 19 projects.

The works executed have ensured the

territorial integrity and the socio-economic upliftment of the most inaccessible regions of the country as well as India’s neighbourhood.

3. World Press Freedom Day The World Press Freedom Day is observed

annually on 3rd May across the world. The day

celebrates the fundamental principles of press

freedom. It also reminds that many journalists

brave death or face jail to bring daily news to the public.

The theme for the day in 2018 was Keeping

Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule

of Law’. The main event was jointly organized

by UNESCO and the Government of the

Republic of Ghana that took place in Accra,

Ghana.

Important Days


38

4. National Technology Day celebrated at Mumbai In order to promote and facilitate science and

techno base infrastructure to the society,

Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai (NCSM)

celebrated the National Technology Day on

11th May 2018. On this occasion, the most

displayed “Illuminating India: 5000 Years of

Science and Innovation” exhibition at the

Science Museum, London was displayed in Mumbai for the first time.

“Illuminating India: 5000 Years of Science and

Innovation”, which was organised at the

Science Museum, London was one of the major event under the India –UK Year of Culture.

Nehru Science Centre.

5. International Nurses Day observed on 12th May International Nurses day was observed on 12th May. It was based on theme “Nurses A

Voice to Lead – Health is a Human

right”.The International Nurse Day (IND)

is observed every year on May 12 across world

to mark the birth anniversary of Florence

Nightingale, who is widely called as the founder

of modern nursing.

ICN represents the voice of nurses around the

world.ICN envisions a world in which human

rights are respected and protected including the

right of present and future populations to a safe, healthy and sustainable environment.

6. World Telecommunication and Information Society Day observed on 17th May 17 May is observed as World

Telecommunication and Information Society

Day as it marks the anniversary of the signing

of the first International Telegraph Convention

and the creation of the International

Telecommunication Union. The theme of 2018

was ‘Enabling the positive use of Artificial

Intelligence for all’. The 2018 theme focused on the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The purpose of World Telecommunication and

Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities of the

Internet that can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.


39

7. International Day of Families observed on 15th May The International Day of Families is observed

annually on 15th May to highlights role of

families and family-oriented policies, all

caregivers in families, be it parents,

grandparents or siblings and the importance of

parental upbringing for the welfare of

children. The theme of 2018 was ‘Families and

inclusive societies’. The International Day of

Families provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues.

The 2018 theme observance explored the role of families and family policies in advancing

Sustainable Development Goal 16 in terms of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies

for sustainable development.

8. International Bio-diversity Day The International Day for Biological Diversity is

observed annually on 22nd May to increase

understanding and awareness of biodiversity

issues. The theme for 2018 for World

Biodiversity Day was “Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity”.

The theme marks the 25th anniversary of the

entry into force of the Convention on Biological

Diversity and to highlight progress made in the

achievement of its objectives at the national

and global levels. 22nd May marks the date of

Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity at UNEP Headquarters, Nairobi on 22 May 1992.

9. Anti-Terrorism Day The Anti Terrorism Day is observed on 21 May

every year in our country to make the people

aware of anti-social act of terrorism and its impact on human suffering and lives.

The official announcement of National Anti

Terrorism Day was made after the

assassination of India's seventh Prime Minister

Rajiv Gandhi on 21 May, 1991. He was killed in

Tamil Nadu in a campaign by the terrorist.

Then, under V.P. Singh government the centre

has decided to observe 21st May as Anti Terrorism Day.


40

10. World Thyroid Awareness Day World Thyroid Day is observed annually on May 25 with an

objective to increase awareness and understanding about

thyroid health. There are two types of thyroid- hyperthyroid

(an over active thyroid gland) and hypothyroid (underactive

thyroid gland).

In 2008, the European Thyroid Association (ETA) and

American Thyroid Association (ATA) joined forces to create the day devoted globally to the Thyroid Gland.

11. International Day of UN Peacekeepers observed globally 29 May is celebrated annually worldwide as

International Day of UN Peacekeepers to pay

tribute to all the men and women who have

served and continue to serve in United Nations

peacekeeping operations for their high level of

professionalism, dedication, and courage and

to honour the memory of those who have lost

their lives in the cause of peace.

UNAMID commemorated the International Day

of United Nations Peacekeepers under the

theme “UN Peacekeeping: 70 Years of Service and Sacrifice on 29th May. The first UN

peacekeeping mission was established on 29 May 1948.

12. 8th May observed as World Red Cross Day In order to celebrate the birthday anniversary

of founder of the Red Cross, World Red Cross

day is observed on 8th of May every year. The

theme of World Red Cross Day 2018 is

“Memorable smiles from around the world”.

World Red Cross Day is a celebration of the

principles of the International Red Cross and

Red Crescent Movement. Henry Dunant was

the founder of the Red Cross as well as the

founder of International Committee of the Red

Cross (ICRC), born in the Geneva in the year

1828.


41

13. 10th May observed as World Migratory Bird Day The World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated

across the world on 10th May annually. The

theme for 2018 was "Unifying our Voices for

Bird Conservation". It is a 2-day event annually

held on the second weekend of May to highlight

the need to protect migratory birds and their

habitats.

The day is celebrated by organizing public

events such as bird festivals, education

programs and bird-watching excursions. The 2018 campaign focused at raising awareness

on the development of its new identity and the need for people celebrating WMBD around

the world to communicate and learn from each other, across borders, within and between

the world's flyways.


42

1. International Buddhist Conference Concluded in Lumbini, Nepal The International Buddhist Conference

concluded in Lumbini, the birth place of

Gautama Buddha. It was organised as part of

2562nd Buddha Jayanti celebrations.

Participants from more than 20 countries including India attended two day conference.

The basic objective of the conference was to

disseminate teachings of Gautam Buddha and

spread the messages of nonviolence,

brotherhood, co-existence, love and peace to the international community.

2. Dominican Republic establishes ties with China, breaks with Taiwan The Dominican Republic announced of

establishing diplomatic relations with China

and cut its ties with Taiwan in the face of

Beijing's growing influence. Only 19 nations

worldwide now have official ties to Taiwan. In

June 2017, Panama cut ties with Taipei to open

relations with Beijing. Costa Rica did so in 2007.

Mainland China and Taiwan have been ruled

separately since 1949. Taiwan sees itself as a

sovereign nation but Beijing considers it a part of its territory awaiting reunification.

3. India and Pakistan to participate in multi-nation military drill India and Pakistan will participate together for

the first time in a multi-nation counter-

terrorism exercise in Russia in September

2018. The exercise is being conducted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

The exercise has been named “Peace Mission”

and will be held at the Ural mountains of

Russia. Its main aim will be to to enhance

counter-terror cooperation among the eight

SCO member countries. The SCO was founded

at a summit in Shanghai in 2001. India and Pakistan were admitted as full members of the bloc in 2017.

International


43

4. Cambridge Analytica shut down after Facebook scandal Cambridge Analytica and its British parent SCL

Elections Ltd shut down its operations in U.S.

and U.K. The UK-based political consulting firm

was accused of massive data breach of

Facebook users worldwide. The firm was

accused of improperly obtaining personal information on behalf of political clients.

Surrounding the negative media coverage

around the issue, the company lost its clients

and faced mounting legal fees which was difficult for it to continue operations.

5. Google.org announced grant of $3 Million for e-Learning, Teachers in India Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, has

announced additional grants of $3 million to two non-

profit organisations, Central Square Foundation and

The Teacher App. It will provide a $2 million grant

and technical assistance from the YouTube Learning

team to Central Square Foundation. The grant will

support a minimum of 20 content creators.

Google.org will give a grant of $1 million to The Teacher App to empower teachers with the right training and resources on concepts of Math, science, language, and pedagogy

6. Cultural Festival in Egypt commemorated 157th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore The Maulana Azad Center for Indian Culture,

affiliated with the Indian embassy in Cairo,

organized the Tagore Festival from 3-7, May

2018 to commemorate the 157th birth

anniversary of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath

Tagore. An exhibition entitled “Rabindranath

Tagore: Rhythm in Colors” was held at the

Museum of Ahmed Shawky in Giza. The exihibition showcased the paintings of Tagore.

India's Ambassador to Egypt is Sanjay

Bhattacharyya. Tagore had made more than 3,000 paintings and drawings.


44

7. California becomes 5th largest economy in the world California's gross domestic product rose by

$127 billion from 2016 to 2017 to become the

world's fifth largest economy and has gone

past that of the United Kingdom. California's

economy has crossed $2.7 trillion. UK’s economy was $2.6tn.

California’s economic output is now surpassed

only by the total GDP of the United States,

China, Japan and Germany. California last had

the world's fifth largest economy in 2002 but fell as low as 10th in 2012 following the Great Recession.

8. Putin sworn in as Russian president for fourth term Vladimir Putin was sworn in for another six

years as Russian President. He got more than

70% of votes. He has been in power for 18

years, as President and Prime Minister. He

became acting president on New Year’s Eve

1999 and was elected to his first four-year term in 2000.

He stepped down from the presidency in 2008

because of term limits, but was named prime

minister and continued to steer the country until he returned as president in 2012.

9. Russian President chooses to retain Dmitry Medvedev as Prime Minister for his new term Russian President Vladimir Putin has chosen to

retain Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister for

his new term.

Putin submitted the proposal for premiership

to the lower house of parliament, or State

Duma, immediately after he was sworn in for

his 4th term. The Duma is expected to

approve Medvedev as prime minister.

Medvedev has held the premiership since

2012 when Putin started his 3rd term as president.

The Russian government stepped down in accordance with the Constitution after the inauguration of newly-elected President Vladimir Putin.


45

10. Armenia opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan elected PM by parliament Armenia's parliament elected opposition leader

Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister after he

spearheaded weeks of mass protests against

the ruling party, transforming the country's

political landscape. Lawmakers voted 59 to 42

to approve Mr Pashinyan for the job, after the

ruling Republican Party came around to

backing his premiership bid on his second

attempt.

The party had narrowly voted him down,

plunging the Caucasus nation into its most serious political crisis in years. Mr Pashinyan's

election is unlikely to put an end to the political crisis, as the ruling party retains a majority in parliament.

11. India Pavilion inaugurated at Cannes Film Festival 2018 The inaugural session of the Indian Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival 2018 was held at Cannes, France.

A round table discussion was also held to explore

collaborations with countries like Brazil, Philippines,

Austria, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, Canada and New

Zealand where the film commissioners from these

countries discussed the opportunities and challenges

for co-production with India. Discussions were also

held with the heads and management of various

Indian studios and production houses to see how films

in different languages could become more viable and what the government could do to help filmmakers in the country.

12. New York to host 2019 Climate Summit UN Secretary-General Antonio

Guterres announced the host city as New York

for climate week that takes place in September

2019 to review the Paris Agreement

commitments. It will bring together

international leaders from business,

government and civil society to showcase the

unstoppable momentum of global climate action.

The UN Climate Change talks are an integral

part of a broader, worldwide debate on climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change (IPCC) will release its Special Report Global Warming of 1.5°C on 8 October at its meeting in the Republic of Korea.


46

13. Beijing to host 2018 World Robot conference The World Robot Conference 2018 (WRC 2018)

is scheduled to be held in Beijing from 15-19

August 2018. Revolving around the world's

major areas of robotic research and

application, and innovation and development

in an intelligent society, the WRC 2018 will

offer a venue where academic thoughts can be

exchanged at high levels and the latest

achievements demonstrated. Conference will

discuss robots, artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and control systems

A robot competition will be held during the conference where more than 50,000

participants from more than 10 countries will participate.

14. Malaysia’s new prime minister became oldest Prime Minister in the world After a gap of 15 years Mahathir bin Mohamad

was once again sworn in as Malaysia's Prime

Minister, and his re-election also resulted him

to become a world record holder.At the age of

92 years 141 days, he is now the oldest

incumbent Prime Minister having been born on 20 December 1925.

Mahathir also served as Prime Minister for 23

years from 1981-2003 and retired 15 years

after stepping down as his country's leader to

stand for re-election. Mahathir Mohamad announced to serve country for next 2 years and tackle Malaysia’s financial issues.

15. China hosted SCO Tourism Ministers’ Conference China hosted the first Shanghai Cooperation

Organization Tourism Ministers meeting. The

Minister of State for Tourism and Minister of

State for Electronics and Information

Technology, Shri K. J. Alphons attended the

Tourism Ministers’ conference organized by

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in

Wuhan, China. As an important session of

the 1st Shanghai Cooperation Organization

(SCO) Tourism Minister’s Meeting, the

Symposium focused on the uniqueness of tourism as the highlight of SCO cooperation and

a new engine for regional development.

At the Symposium, representatives from SCO Member States shared insights on cross-

regional market information exchange.


47

16. India gave financial aid of NRs 18.07 crore to Nepal for river training Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh

Puri presented a cheque of grant Nepali rupees

18.07 crore to Dr. Sanjay Sharma, Secretary

Ministry of Energy, Irrigation & Water

Resources, Nepal for river training and

construction of embankments

along Lalbakeya, Bagmati and Kamla rivers in

Nepal. This construction will help in flood

control and water resources management for

several million people residing in the watershed of these rivers in India and Nepal.

Prior to this financial aid, Indian government

provided NRs. 4.68 billion to Nepal for the river training and embankment works.

17. Gina Haspel assumed role of acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Gina C. Haspel assumed the

role of acting director of the Central

Intelligence Agency and Mike Pompeo as

Secretary of State. With this appointment,

Gina Haspel became the first female director of

the CIA. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will

work with President Trump’s national security

team. Gina has experience of working as spy in

Africa, Europe and classified locations around the globe.

CIA is the USA’s premier agency providing global intelligence in ever-changing political, social, economic, technological, & military landscapes.

18. SCO Cultural Ministers’ meeting held in Sanya city, China The Minister of State for Culture, Dr Mahesh

Sharma led the Indian delegation to the 15th

Meeting of the Cultural Ministers of the

Shanghai Cooperation Organization Member

States held in Sanya city, China. Key

discussions of the SCO meeting focused on

achieving more in-depth and creative

multilateral cultural cooperation and

promoting regional cultural cooperation and mutual understanding of the people.

The two-day meeting concluded with the issuance of the 2018-20 Executive Plan. The

main objectives of the SCO was to strengthen relations among member states and promote cooperation in various fields.


48

19. Guatemala became second country to open embassy in Jerusalem Guatemala announced set up of its embassy in

Jerusalem. With this, Guatemala became

second country to open its embassy in

Jerusalem. However, the said announcement

was protested by anti-government protestors.

U.S.A. was the first one to open its embassy in

Jerusalem. Some other countries who have

also announced to move its embassy are Paraguay and Honduras.

Guatemala, a Central American country south

of Mexico, is home to volcanoes, rainforests and ancient Mayan sites.

20. Colombia to be NATO's first Latin American ‘global partner’ Colombia will become the first country in Latin

America to join Nato as a "global partner".

Colombia will cooperate on global security

areas like cyber and maritime security, terrorism and links to organized crime.

Colombia joins Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq,

Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New

Zealand and Pakistan as "partners across the

globe" or simply "global partners." Each

country “has developed an Individual

Partnership Cooperation Program" with the US-led alliance and many contributing actively

to NATO missions.

21. Carlos Alvarado Sworn in as Costa Rican President Famous journalist Carlos Alvarado was

selected as new President of Costa Rica.At the

age of 39, Carlos Alvarado is known to be the

youngest president in modern history of Costa

Rica. He won the elections against

conservative Protestant singer Fabricio

Alvarado Munoz. He promised to build a green

transport network for the nation and help economic growth to fight against insecurity.

Costa Rica is a rugged, rainforested Central

American country with coastlines on the Caribbean and Pacific. It is one of the region's

most stable economies but its GDP was downgraded by FITCH recently due to fiscal deficit.


49

22. WHO released REPLACE guide to eliminate trans-fatty acids from food by 2023 WHO released ‘REPLACE’, a step-by-step guide

for the elimination of industrially-

produced trans-fatty acids from the global food

supply. Eliminating trans fats is key to

protecting health and saving lives: WHO

estimates that every year, trans fat intake

leads to more than 500,000 deaths of people from cardiovascular disease.

WHO calls on governments to use the REPLACE

to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fatty

acids from the food supply.REPLACE provides

6 strategies to ensure sustained elimination of industrially-produced trans fats from the

food supply. REPLACE stands for REview dietary sources Promote the replacement Legislate actions Assess fats Create awareness and Enforce compliance.

23. WHO published its first essential diagnostics list WHO published its first ever list of essential diagnostic tests to

diagnose the most common conditions and get effective

treatment. WHO will update the Essential Diagnostics List on

regular basis. The list will expand significantly over the next few

years, as it incorporates other important areas including

antimicrobial resistance, emerging pathogens, neglected

tropical diseases and additional non-communicable diseases.

The list concentrates on in vitro tests - i.e. tests of human

specimens like blood and urine. It contains 113 products: 58

tests are listed for detection and diagnosis of a wide range of common conditions.

24. Russia unveiled World’s First Floating Nuclear Plant Russia unveiled the world's first floating nuclear

power station in the port of the far northern city

of Murmansk, where it will be loaded with nuclear

fuel before heading to eastern Siberia. The

Akademik Lomonosov was constructed at the St. Petersburg shipyard.

Russia is planning to put the 21,000-ton plant

into service in 2019 in the Arctic off the coast of

Chukotka. It will be capable of producing enough electricity to power a town of 200,000 residents.


50

25. Venezuela's President Maduro won Re-election Venezuela's leftist leader Nicolas Maduro won

a new six-year term as President. Maduro took

5.8 million votes, versus 1.8 million for his

closest challenger Henri Falcon. Maduro has

been criticized for economic hardships.

Venezuela is seeing growing levels of

malnutrition and hyperinflation, and mass

emigration.

The bolivar currency is currently down by 99%

in the past year and the International Monetary

Fund expects inflation in Venezuela to reach 13,000% in 2018. An estimated 1.6 million

people fled the country between 2015 and 2017, according to the International

Organization for Migration.

26. Russian President Putin appointed ex-deputy PM Rogozin as head of space agency Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed

former deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin

as the head of the space agency Roscosmos.

As deputy prime minister between 2011 and

May 2018, Rogozin was responsible for overseeing the defence and space industries.

Dmitry Rogozin oversaw the space industry as

deputy prime minister from 2011 until May

2018. Rogozin is under US sanctions over the

Ukraine crisis. Roscosmos is a governmental

agency responsible for the space flight and cosmonautics program for the Russian Federation.

27. China tested first drone-carried meteorological data monitor to undertake atmospheric observations China has successfully tested its first drone-

carried meteorological data monitor to

undertake atmospheric observations. The

dropsonde also known as the meteorological

data monitor, can descend at a stabilised

speed and cut the atmosphere column like a

scalpel to gather data such as temperature,

humidity, and wind direction and transmit

them to ground receiving devices in real time.

The dropsonde carried by the Unmanned

Aircraft Vehicle (UAV).The dropsondes can be widely used in meteorological emergency,

disaster and ecological monitoring and offer a convenient and low-cost option for artificial meteorological observation and response systems in the future.


51

28. 71st World Health Assembly Held in Geneva, Switzerland The 71st Session of the World Health

Organization's (WHO) World Health Assembly

(WHA) was held in Geneva, Switzerland from

21 to 26 May 2018. The World Health

Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO.

It is attended by delegations from all WHO

Member States and focuses on a specific

health agenda prepared by the Executive Board.

The Event was held under the theme "Health for All: Commit To Universal Health

Coverage". The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies

of the Organization, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed

programme budget.

29. Pakistan hosted its first SCO anti-terrorism meeting in Islamabad Pakistan hosted its first Shanghai Cooperation

Organisation (SCO) meeting in Islamabad. The

three-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-

Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS)

meeting was held to discuss terrorist threats

facing the region and ways and means to

enhance counter-terrorism cooperation between SCO member states.

It is the first such event held in Pakistan since

the country along with India became a

member of the organisation in June 2017. The eight SCO member states are China, Kazakhstan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.

30. Nepal becomes first country in South-East Asia to eliminate trachoma The World Health Organization (WHO) has

validated Nepal for having eliminated

trachoma as a public health problem. The

Himalayan nation thus became the first in

WHO’s South-East Asia Region to defeat the

world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.

Trachoma was the second leading cause of

preventable blindness in Nepal in the 1980s.

In 1996, WHO launched the WHO Alliance for

the Global Elimination of Trachoma by the year

2020 (GET2020). Trachoma, an eye disease caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, is spread through contact with infective eye or nose discharges.


52

31. US uninvites China from major U.S. military exercise The United States has uninvited China from

participating in a multinational naval exercise,

2018 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise, in

response to Beijing’s militarization of islands in

the South China Sea.

Those islands, which China has enlarged and

occupied in recent years, are subject to

competing claims from several countries,

including Malaysia, Vietnam and the

Philippines. RIMPAC is considered to be the

world’s largest international maritime exercise, held every two years in Hawaii in June and July, and China has attended previously.

32. Ireland votes in referendum to overturn abortion ban by 66% to 33% Ireland has voted overwhelmingly in a

referendum to overturn the abortion ban by

66% to 33%. Currently, abortion is only

allowed, when a woman's life is at risk, but not

in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal

abnormality. A vote in favour of repeal paves

the way for the Irish Parliament to legislate for

change.

One of the key cases influencing the debate on

abortion in Ireland was that of Indian dentist

Savita Halappanavar. She died of sepsis in an hospital after being denied abortion during

a protracted miscarriage in 2012.

33. Netherlands became 64th Signatory Member of International Solar Alliance The Netherlands has become the 64th

signatory member of the International Solar

Alliance. The ISA is conceived as a coalition of

solar resource rich countries to address their

special energy needs and will provide a

platform to collaborate on addressing the

identified gaps through a common, agreed

approach.

Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte was in

in India on a two-day visit. According to data

for 2016-17, the Netherlands was the fifth

largest foreign investor in India. Globally, the Netherlands is India's 28th largest trading

partner.


53

34. Mission Innovation Ministerial Meeting held in Sweden The 3rd Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI-3)

meeting was held in Malmö, Sweden. The

Indian delegation was led by Union Minister for

Science & Technology, Earth Sciences,

Environment, Forests and Climate Change Dr. Harsh Vardhan.

MI-3 is a global initiative, with 22 participating

countries in addition to the European

Commission (on behalf of the EU), focused on accelerating clean energy innovation and

boosting public research and development spending in the field of clean energy. India is founding member of Mission Innovation and part of the Steering Committee.

35. 5th India CLMV Business Conclave held at Phnom Penh, Cambodia The Ministry of Commerce & Industry,

Government of India along with Ministry of

Commerce of Cambodia organized the 5th

India-CLMV Business Conclave in Phnom Penh

on 21-22 May 2018. The Confederation of

Indian Industry (CII) was the institutional partner of the event.

After four rounds of the Business Conclave in

India, this initiative was brought by

Department of Commerce of Government of

India to Cambodia, for greater participation from the region.

36. Global Wind Summit to be organized in Germany's Hamburg The three day Global Wind Summit will be

organized in Hamburg, Germany in September

2018. The summit will be organized by

Hamburg Messe. Over 1,400 exhibitors from

about 40 countries and regions worldwide are expected to participate in the summit.

The Expo this year has three main subjects,

which are Dynamic Markets, Cost-Efficiency

and Smart Energy. Evolved from Germany's regional Husum Wind Expo, Hamburg Global Wind Summit is held every two years.


54

1. The CCEA has approved the proposal for renaming and restructuring of Multi-sectoral

Development Programme as Pradhan Mantri Jan VikasKaryakram.

2. The Union Cabinet has approved financial assistance of 5.50 rupees per quintal of

cane crushed in sugar season 17-18 to sugar mills for clearing cane dues of farmers.

3. The Cabinet has approved the continuation of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha

Yojana beyond 12th Five Year Plan to 2019-20.

4. The Cabinet has given its approval for construction and operationalisation of 100

bedded general hospital at Rural Health Training Centre, RHTC, Najafgarh, New Delhi

at an estimated cost of about 95 crore rupees.

5. The Cabinet has approved three major infrastructure projects - new terminal

buildings at Guwahati, Chennai and Lucknow airports at a total cost of more than 5

thousand crore rupees.

6. Cabinet gave its approval for restructuring of Indian Bureau of Mines by upgradation,

creation and abolition of certain posts of Joint Secretary-level and above.

7. Nepal has rejoined the T20I ratings but will need to play one more match before they

are ranked on the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Rankings.

8. Nepal wrist-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane has been added to the ICC World XI squad

for the 31 May T20I against the Windies.

9. Biggest Airport, after Mumbai, to be developed in Mopa, Goa

10. India's CA Bhavani Devi won a silver medal in the sabre event of the Tournoi World

Cup Satellite Fencing Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland.

11. The bilateral trade between India and China through Nathu La border has resumed.

12. Government constituted two GoM to consider the issues relating to “Incentivizing

digital payments in the GST regime” & “Imposition of Cess on Sugar under GST”.

13. The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu was on a 6-day visit to

Guatemala, Panama and Peru.

14. Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has launched 'Go to Village' mission in 60

villages of all the 60 Assembly constituencies across the state. Under the new

mission, the government would identify eligible and deserving beneficiaries and

would deliver government services at their doorstep.

15. The 12th informal meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers was held in Manila, Philippines

on the sidelines of the 51st Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB). It was

Chaired by Finance Minister of Nepal Yuba Raj Khatiwada.

16. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Secretary-General Rashid Kutbiddinovitch

Alimov arrived in New Delhi and held talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma

Swaraj and other Union ministers.

17. India and Sri Lanka have agreed to co-operate on exchange of information and other

aspects to tackle smuggling of drugs in both countries.

18. India bagged the title of U-16 four-nation football tournament against Tajikistan held

in Serbia

19. Kerala was on high alert over Nipah virus outbreak.

20. Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, was on a two-day official visit to

India.

21. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sochi in Russia where he held a meeting with

Russian President Vladimir Putin, as part of an informal summit between the two

nations.

22. Prajnesh Gunneswaran has won the prestigious T.K. Ramanathan award for the year

2017-18. He received a cash prize of Rs. 30,000.

Miscellaneous


55

23. The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, went for a four-day visit to

Israel. He will be attending a conference on ‘Air Superiority as a Bridge to Regional

Stability’.

24. Coimbatore racer Bala Prasath has won the Formula Junior Racing Series 2018

Championship in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

25. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has announced that the family of a paramilitary

jawan who dies in action will be given a minimum compensation of one crore rupees.

26. Bank of Baroda has successfully located most of its operational activities at a shared

service centre (SSC) at the GIFT City near Ahmedabad, making it the first Indian

bank to move several key operations to the smart city.

27. India will be the host country for this year's celebrations of World Environment Day.

28. Pakistan had imposed a temporary ban on the exhibition and screening of Indian and

other foreign language films during Eid.

29. Prof. Ganeshi Lal has been appointed as the new Governor of Odisha while

Kummanam Rajasekharan will be the Governor of Mizoram.

30. Prasar Bharati has achieved a revenue of 1,437 crore rupees for 2017-18 which is a

12% growth over 2016-17.

31. The Government of the Netherlands has signed a MoU with the Government of

Haryana, India, to support the state with the diversification of the agricultural sector,

with a focus on horticultural crops.

32. India welcomed the Netherlands as the Partner Country for the Tech-Summit in

2019.

33. Queen Maxima of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who is also the United Nations

Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development arrived

in New Delhi on a four-day visit to India.

34. The Assam government will adopt modern technology to prevent rhino poaching at

the Kaziranga national park. Drones as well as modern gazette named as Electronic

Eye will also be set up at the Kaziranga.

35. Pakistan has appointed former Chief Justice, Nasir Ul Mulk as interim Prime Minister

until general elections are held on July 25.

36. The main event of 4th International Yoga Day celebrations (IDY-2018) will be held on

21st June 2018 at Dehradun in Uttarakhand.


56

1. Union Government launched draft of new Telecom policy The Union Government has released the draft

of a new Telecom policy - National Digital

Communications Policy, 2018. It aims to

provide access of broadband with 50 megabit

per second to every citizen, attract $100 billion

investment in the sector and create 40 lakh jobs by 2022.

The new telecom policy draft proposes to

provide 1 Gbps connectivity to all Gram

Panchayats by 2020 and 10 Gbps by 2022. The draft talks of establishing a ‘National Broadband Mission – Rashtriya Broadband Abhiyan’.

2. Cabinet approved continuation of Umbrella Scheme ‘Green Revolution — Krishonnati Yojana’ in Agriculture Sector The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

has given its approval for the Umbrella

Scheme, "Green Revolution – Krishonnati

Yojana" in agriculture sector beyond 12th Five

Year Plan for the period from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

The Umbrella scheme comprises of 11

Schemes/Missions. These schemes look to

develop the agriculture and allied sector in a

holistic and scientific manner to increase the

income of farmers by enhancing production,

productivity and better returns on produce. The Schemes will be continued with an

expenditure of Rs.33,269.976 Crore for three financial years, i.e., 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.

3. Government launched Pilot Scheme for Procurement of Aggregate Power of 2500 MW The Government has launched a Pilot Scheme

for Procurement of Aggregate Power of 2500

MW on competitive basis for 3 years under

medium term i.e. from generators with

commissioned projects but without Power

Purchase Agreement.

PFC Consulting Limited (A wholly owned

subsidiary of PFC Ltd) has been appointed as

Nodal Agency and PTC India Limited as the

Aggregator. Under the scheme a single entity can be allotted maximum capacity of 600 MW. The Scheme assures a minimum off-take of 55% of contracted capacity.

National


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4. Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba launched online Event Clearance System for foreign nationals

Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba

launched the online Event Clearance System

(https://conference.mha.gov.in) for grant of

security clearance to the

conference/seminar/workshop organized in

India. With the introduction of the online

module, the whole process has become

paperless and standardized resulting in effective monitoring and timely disposal.

Prior to the introduction of online module, obtaining clearances for organizing a

conference/seminar/workshop for issue of Conference Visa to foreign delegates was an offline procedure.

5. Swachh Bharat Mission launched GOBAR-DHAN Scheme Union Minister for Drinking Water and

Sanitation, Uma Bharti, on April 30, 2018

launched the GOBAR - DHAN (Galvanising

Organic Bio-Agro Resources Fund) Scheme at

the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI)

Auditorium, Karnal. The scheme aims to

positively impact village cleanliness and

generate wealth and energy from cattle and

organic waste.

The scheme envisages the implementation of 700 bio-gas units in different states of the

country in 2018-19. The Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) comprises two main components

for creating clean villages – creating open defecation free (ODF) villages and managing solid and liquid waste in villages.

6. Cabinet approves Doubling of Investment Limit for Senior Citizens from Rs. 7.5 lakh to Rs.15 lakh under PMVVY

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for

extending the investment limit from Rs 7.5

lakhs to Rs 15 lakhs under the Pradhan

MantriVayaVandanYojana. The cabinet also

approved the extension of time limits for

subscription from 4thMay 2018 to 31stMarch, 2020 under the PMVVY.

Further the investment limit of Rs 7.5 lakh

per family in the existing scheme is

enhanced to Rs 15 lakh per senior citizen in

the modified PMVVY, thereby providing a

larger social security cover to the Senior citizens. It will enable up to Rs.10000 Pension per month for Senior Citizens.


58

7. Cabinet approved Mutual Recognition Agreement between the ICAI and the SAICA The Union Cabinet has has approved the

Mutual Recognition Agreement between the

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

(ICAI) and The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

The Agreement will:

1. facilitate recognition of Indian Accountancy Professionals with local Accountancy

qualification in addition to existing ICAI qualification, which will increase their professional

avenues in South African markets

2. foster strong working relations between the two accounting institutes

3. increase mobility of professionals at either end and would herald a new dimension for small and medium businesses in both countries

8. Cabinet approved construction and operationalization of 100 bedded General Hospital at Najafgarh, New Delhi The Union Cabinet has given its approval for

construction and operationalization of 100

bedded General Hospital at Rural Health

Training Centre (RHTC), Najafgarh, New Delhi

at an estimated cost of about Rs. 95 Crore. The

Project envisages setting up of the 100 bedded

hospital in Najafgarh in two years to cater to

the local population of 13.65 Lakh spread

across 73 villages.

The hospital is expected to be fully operational by May 2020. The hospital will include four

major clinical services in Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Paediatrics and Surgery.


59

9. Cabinet approved accession to the Protocol under WHO Framework Convention on tobacco control The Union Cabinet has given approval to

accede to the Protocol under World Health

Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on

tobacco control to eliminate illicit trade in

tobacco products. It will be applicable to both

smoking and chewing or smokeless tobacco

(SLT) forms as negotiated and adopted under

Article 15 of the World Health Organization

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

(WHO FCTC).

India is a party to WHO FCTC. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO

FCTC) is the first international public health treaty negotiated under the auspices of the

WHO.

10. Boost to Airport Infrastructure in Lucknow, Chennai and Guwahati The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

has given its approval for expansion and up-

gradation of integrated terminals at Chennai,

Guwahati &Lucknow Airports, at a cost of

Rs.2467 crore, Rs.1383 crore and Rs.1232

crore, respectively.

Highlights of the three projects are as follows:

Lucknow Airport: Construction of New

Integrated Terminal with annual capacity to handle 2.6 million international and 11 million

domestic passenger traffic.

Chennai Airport: Will have annual capacity to handle 35 mppa up to the year 2026-27.

Guwahati Airport: The New Terminal Building can handle combined annual capacity (old and new terminals) of 9 mppa up to the year 2026-27.

11. Telecom Commission approves in-flight mobile connectivity The Telecom Commission (TC) has approved

in-flight connectivity facilitating both voice and

data calls in Indian airspace. For the in-flight

connectivity will be allowed within the Indian

air space with a licence fee of Rupee 1 for the

Telecom service provider and the consumer

price will be decided by the operator and the

airline company.

The TC has also approved two additional items

including submarine cable between Chennai and Andaman & Nicobar islands at a total cost

of ₹1,224 crore, and Bharatnet in eight states.


60

12. 4th Regional Conference on Futuristic, Resilient and Digital Infrastructure of the AIIB held in Bengaluru The Ministry of Finance, Government of India in

collaboration with the Confederation of Indian

Industry (CII), and Research and Information

System for Developing Countries (RIS)

organized the 4th Regional Conference on

Futuristic, Resilient and Digital Infrastructure in

Bengaluru. The 2-day Conference was a lead-up

to the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Asian

Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to be

hosted by the Government of India on 25th and

26th June 2018 in Mumbai.

The two day Conference mainly gave thrust on three (3) broad areas including the

Challenges as well as Opportunities in the context of need for Futuristic, Resilient and

Digital Infrastructure, Resource Mobilisation and Emerging Challenges among others.

13. NWIC setup as single windows source of updated data on water resources The Union Government has formed National

Water Informatics Centre (NWIC). NWIC would

be a repository of nation-wide water resources

data and would work as a Subordinate Office

under the Ministry of Water Resources, River

Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The

centre would be headed by a Joint Secretary

level officer.

NWIC is expected to provide a ‘Single Window’

source of updated data on water resources &

allied themes; and provides value added products and services to all stake holders for its

management and sustainable development.

14. Ministry of Tribal Affairs to expand Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in Tribal Districts across the country The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA),

Government of India has proposed to expand

Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in Tribal Districts

across the country. As per the plan,TRIFED

will facilitate establishment of MFP-led multi-

purpose Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, a cluster of

10 SHGs comprising of 30 tribal MFP

gatherers each, in the tribal areas.

This initiative is aimed at mainstreaming the tribal community by promoting primary level

value addition to MFP at grassroots level. About 3000 such Van Dhan Kendras are proposed

to be set up in two years in the forested Tribal Districts of the country.


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15. India inked 200 million US Dollar Loan Deal with World Bank for POSHAN Abhiyaan The Government of India has signed a loan

deal worth $ 200 million with the World Bank

for the National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN

Abhiyaan). The loan would help the

Government of India in achieving its goal of

reducing stunting in children 0-6 years of age

from 38.4% to 25% by the year 2022.

The POSHAN (PM’s Overarching Scheme for

Holistic Nourishment) Abhiyaan was launched

by the Prime Minister on 8th March 2018 at

Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan. The loan approved will support the first phase scale up to 315

districts across all states and union territories (UTs).

16. 100 additional One Stop Centres(OSCs) approved The Ministry of Women and Child Development

has approved 100 additional One Stop Centres

in the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,

Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram,

Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttar

Pradesh.

The Ministry of Women & Child Development

has set up 182 Centres till date under the

scheme of One Stop Centres (OSCs) for

women affected by violence since April, 2015. The purpose of these OSCs is to facilitate

integrated services for women affected with violence such as police assistance, medical

aid, psycho-social counselling, legal aid, temporary stay for 5 days etc.

17. HRD Ministry launched HRD Ministry portal 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 (NRCs) have been

identified.

The NRCs will develop the Refresher Module which will

include the latest trends in their earmarked discipline

by 15th June each year. The training materials will be

uploaded and made available through SWAYAM to all the teachers w.e.f. 1st October each

year and based on the response, the course can be repeated in the following January.


62

18. NITI Aayog to Collaborate with IBM to develop Precision Agriculture using Artificial Intelligence NITI Aayog and IBM signed a Statement of

Intent (SoI) to develop a crop yield prediction

model using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to

provide real time advisory to farmers in

Aspirational Districts. First phase of the project

will focus on developing the model for 10

Aspirational Districts across the States of

Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,

Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

The partnership aims to work together towards use of technology to provide insights to

farmers to improve crop productivity, soil yield, control agricultural inputs with the

overarching goal of improving farmers’ incomes.

19. Government announced Project to strengthen Namami Gange Programme The 11th Executive Committee meeting of

National Mission for Clean Ganga

(NMCG) approved the project encompassing

the use of Geographic Information

System (GIS) technology for Namami Gange

programme with a total budget of Rs 86.84

crore.

In order to facilitate the Ganga rejuvenation

task through the GIS technology, the NMCG

has tied-up with the Survey of India. The NMCG also approved the project to strengthen

the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) of five main stem Ganga basin states:

Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, approved at an estimated

cost of Rs 85.97 for 5 years.

20. CBDT approved amendment of India-Kuwait tax agreement The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)

notified the protocol amending the Double

Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA)

between India and Kuwait. The protocol

updates the provisions in the DTAA for the

exchange of information as per international

standards.

The protocol also enables sharing of

information received from Kuwait for tax

purposes with other law enforcement agencies, subject to an authorisation of the

competent authority of Kuwait and vice versa.


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21. DEPwD organised ‘Cochlear Implant Awareness Programme’ in Faridabad The Department of Empowerment of Persons

with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of

Social Justice and Empowerment in association

with Indian Red Cross Society has organized a

‘Cochlear Implant Awareness Programme’ in

Faridabad.

The event named Swar Swagtam is of great

importance for creating awareness among the

public about the Cochlear Implant Programme

under ADIP Scheme of the Department.

Cochlear Implant is a modern technology to help young children who have severe to

profound deafness in both ears. Due to hearing impairment they are not able to speak.

22. Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana: Cabinet approves setting up of 20 AIIMS The Union Cabinet has approved a plan to set

up 20 All India Institute of Medical Sciences or

AIIMS across the country and to upgrade 73

medical colleges. Six of the AIMMS have

already been established. The decisions are

part of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha

Yojana (PMSSY), which has been extended by

two years till 2020, with a financial outlay of

Rs. 14,832 crore.

The PMSSY was announced in 2003 with objectives of correcting regional imbalances in

the availability of affordable/ reliable tertiary healthcare services and also to augment

facilities for quality medical education in the country.

23. Cabinet approved restructuring of Multi-sectoral Development Programme The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

has approved the proposal for renaming and

restructuring of Multi-sectoral Development

Programme (MsDP) as Pradhan Mantri Jan

Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) at the cost of Rs.

3,972 crore. CCEA has also approved its

continuation during the remaining period of the

14th Finance Commission.

The Programme aims to address development

deficits in the identified minority concentration areas. The MsDP covered 196 district of

the country whereas PMJVK will cover 308 districts of the country.


64

24. India and Guatemala signed an agreement to boost cooperation in education sector A pact was signed between India and

Guatemala for strengthening diplomatic

cooperation through Respective Foreign

Service Institutes in the educational field. Mr

Naidu also held meeting with the Guatemala

President and others on various bilateral and

international issues. Various issues on trade,

cultural diversity, economic growth were

discussed.

The main focus was on core sectors such as; pharmaceutical, cooperation in education,

technology, conservation of wildlife, Yoga, Tourism and Automobiles. Both the leaders

have agreed to work together to combat the menace of terrorism.

25. TRIFED goes digital for Inventory Management and Sales Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development

Federation (TRIFED) of Ministry of Tribal Affairs

has operationalised Retail Inventory Software

(RIS) in all its Tribes India Outlets, Regional

Offices and Head Office for inventory control.

Implementation of RIS software will bring

greater transparency and control over various

transactions under Retail sale.

The various stages of retail sale process

included in the Retail Inventory Software (RIS) include item selection for vendor at

Regional Offices, request for code generation for selected items, generation of purchase

order, stock and inventory details through POS, inventory management, monitoring of

sale/purchase at regional office and report generation of sales/purchase.

26. India and Sri Lanka agreed to exchange information for drug control In order to tackle smuggling of drugs, gangs

and traffickers, India and Sri lanka agreed

on cooperation on exchange of information

such as intelligence, and assistance in tracing

those involved in drug smuggling in both

countries. Other points were also discussed

such as control on delivery operations and

training by India's Narcotics Control Bureau

(NCB) and Sri Lanka's Police Narcotics Bureau

(PNB).

The Narcotics Control Bureau is the nodal drug law enforcement and intelligence agency

of India responsible for fighting drug trafficking and the abuse of illegal substances.


65

27. Ministry of I&B to establish a dedicated web portal for promotion of Audio Visual Services in India The Film Facilitation Office is in the process

of establishing a dedicated web portal that

will disseminate information on filming

locations and the facilities available in India

for production. Accordingly, the portal will

help production companies looking to shoot

in India to obtain permissions, explore

potential benefits and obtain an overview of

various locations in India that could benefit the storyline of the film under consideration.

The portal would also provide information on locations and link to all State portals.

Financial incentives will be provided to film makers for production of films under Audio

Visual Co-production treaties other countries.

28. Ravi Shankar Prasad launched website of digital India internship scheme A Digital India scheme portal

(www.meity.gov.in/schemes)

was launched byRavi Shankar Prasad, Minister

of Electronics and IT. Internship would be

offered two times in a year i.e. summer and

winter. An internship is an opportunity for a

student to secure first hand and practical work

experience under the guidance of a qualified

and experienced Supervisor.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is engaged in electronic

development through e-Infrastructure creation to facilitate and promote e-governance.

29. TRAI issued draft of telecom interconnection regulations Telecom Regulatory Authority of India released

draft amendment of telecommunication

interconnection with some amendments such

as interconnect regulations, proposing certain

changes in terms and conditions for operators

to seek fresh call connect ports from other

telcos.

According to draft amendments, it has been

proposed that a service provider can ask

another operator for additional ports, in case the projected utilization of the capacity is

likely to exceed 85% over 60 day period. It has been decided that each service provider

shall provide its forecast of busy hour outgoing traffic for each POI, at intervals of every

six months.


66

30. Union Textiles Minister chaired the meeting on Samarth in New Delhi A meeting of stakeholders on Samarth –

Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector

under the Skill India Mission was held in New

Delhi to familiarize the stakeholders about the

scheme and its guidelines. The broad objective

of the new scheme is to skill the youth for

gainful and sustainable employment in the

textile sector covering the entire value chain of

textiles, excluding spinning and weaving.

The scheme is intended to provide demand

driven, placement oriented National Skills Qualifications Framework in creating jobs in the

textiles sectors. The scheme targets to train 10 lakh persons in 3 years.

31. President of India launched 4th Global Exhibition on Services The President of India, Shri Ram NathKovind,

inaugurated the 4th Global Exhibition on

Services and launched a portal on 12

Champion Sectors in Services in Mumbai. The

launch of 12 Champion Sectors is a bold new

step that will contribute to both India’s

economy and the global economy, and will

create jobs.

The President noted that Government

programmes such as Start-up India and the Mudra Yojana, which has provided capital to

120 million grassroots businesses, have seeded a culture of entrepreneurship, largely in

services.

32. Cabinet apprised of MoU between India and France The Union Cabinet has been apprised of the

Memorandum of Understanding between the

Indian Railways and SNCF Mobilites on

Technical Cooperation in the field of Railways.

The MoUs facilitate exchange of technical

experts, reports and technical documents,

training and seminars focusing on specific

technology areas and other interactions for

knowledge sharing.

The MoU will provide a framework of cooperation for focused approach in high speed and

semi-high speed rail, station renovation and operations, modernisation of current

operations and infrastructure and suburban trains.


67

33. Cabinet approved MoU between the India and Swaziland The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister

Shri Narendra Modi approved MoU between the

India and Swaziland on cooperation in the field

of Health and Medicine. The MoU covers field

of drugs &pharmaceutical products, medical

consumable products, medical research,

medical equipment and public health,

communicable disease control & surveillance,

health tourism and any other area of mutual

interest etc.

A Working Group will be set up to further

elaborate the details of cooperation and to oversee the implementation of this MoU.

34. Cabinet approved National Policy on Biofuels – 2018 The Union Cabinet approved National Policy on

Biofuels – 2018. The Policy categorises biofuels

as "Basic Biofuels" and encourages setting up

of supply chain mechanisms for biodiesel

production from non-edible oilseeds. Policy will

help in reducing import dependency, increase

employment generation, prevent diversion of

used cooking oil in the food industry and

provide cleaner environment.

Globally, biofuels have caught the attention in

last decade and it is imperative to keep up with

the pace of developments in the field of biofuels. Biofuels programme in India has been

largely impacted due to the sustained non-availability of domestic feedstock for biofuel

production.

35. Cabinet approved Corpus for micro irrigation fund with NABARD The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

approved an initial Corpus of Rs.5,000 crore for

setting up of a dedicated “Micro Irrigation

Fund” (MIF) with NABARD under Pradhan

Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). The

allocation of Rs. 2,000 crore and Rs. 3,000

crore will be utilised during 2018-19 and 2019-

20 respectively.

The dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund would

supplement the efforts of Per Drop More Crop Component (PDMC) of Pradhan Mantri Krishi

Sinchayee Yojana in an effective and timely manner.


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36. Cabinet approved MoU between India and Suriname The Union Cabinet has approved the

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

between India and Suriname on cooperation in

the field of electoral management and

administration including exchange of

knowledge and experience in the field of

organizational and technical development of

electoral process; support in exchanging

information, institutional strengthening and

capacity building, training of personnel,

holding regular consultations etc.

The MoU will promote bilateral cooperation, aimed at building technical assistance /

capacity support for Suriname envisaging cooperation in the field of electoral management

and administration.

37. Cabinet approved MoU between India and Equatorial Guinea The Union Cabinet Chaired by Prime Minister

Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto

approval to the Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) between India and Equatorial Guinea for

Cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine.

The MoU will enhance bilateral cooperation

between the two countries in the areas of

Traditional Systems of Medicine. The financial

resources necessary to conduct research, training courses, conferences/meetings and

deputations of experts will be met from the existing allocated budget and existing plan schemes of Ministry of AYUSH.

38. NITI Aayog signed on Sushant Singh Rajput to promote the Women Entrepreneurship Platform NITI Aayog announced the signing of a

Statement of Intent with actor Sushant Singh

Rajput, to support NITI’s flagship initiative, the

Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP). NITI

Aayog has always emphasised the importance

of reaching out to the youth and inviting them

to engage with the various policies of the government.

He will also be promoting NITI Aayog’s digital

payments campaign which looks towards

transforming India into a less-cash economy.

The actor will endorse the Women Entrepreneurship Platform and encourage use of Bharat

Interface for Money application by appearing in various video and social media campaigns

of NITI Aayog.


69

39. Cabinet reshuffle in four Ministries

President of India annouced reshuffle and directed the following reallocation of portfolios

amongst the members of the Union Council of Ministers, as per advice of Prime Minister of India.

Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs

Piyush Goyal (temporarily)-Additional charge

Minister of State in the Ministry of

Information and Broadcasting

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Ministry of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

SS Ahluwalia, Minister of State

Relieved from Minister of State in the

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Alphons Kannanthanam

40. States inked MoUs with Centre on Health Protection Mission Four states named as Himachal Pradesh,

Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and

Uttarakhandand the Union Territory of

Chandigarh inked MoU with government on

national health protection mission. National

Health Protection Mission has the benefit cover

of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year. The target

beneficiaries of the proposed scheme will be

more than 10 crore families belonging to poor and vulnerable population.

The benefit cover will also include pre and post-hospitalisation expenses. All pre-existing

conditions will be covered from day one of the policy. This will lead to increased access to

quality health and medication.

41. IIM-Ahmedabad launched $25 million Bharat inclusive initiative IIM-Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation,

Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) has

launched the Bharat Inclusion Initiative, with a

commitment of $25 million from The Bill and

Melinda Gates Foundation, Omidyar Network

and Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. The

initiative will focus on incubating and backing

startups that work in areas such as financial inclusion, livelihood, education and health.

The initiative aims to channelize approximately $25 Million over the next 3-4 years in

backing startups using digital technology to offer services to the unserved. The Bharat

Inclusion initiative aims to provide a continuum of solutions to inclusion focused tech entrepreneurs.


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42. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy issued National Wind-solar Hybrid Policy MNRE issued National Wind-Solar Hybrid

Policy. The objective of the policy is to provide

a framework for promotion of large grid

connected wind-solar PV hybrid system for

efficient utilization of transmission

infrastructure and land. The existing

wind/solar projects can be hybridised with

higher transmission capacity than the

sanctioned one, subject to availability of

margin in the existing transmission capacity.

On technology front the Policy provides for integration of both the energy sources i.e. wind

and solar at AC as well as DC level. The Policy seeks to promote new hybrid projects as well as hybridisation of existing projects.

43. India’s first all-woman post office passport seva kendra started its operations India’s first all women ‘Post Office Passport

Seva Kendra (POPSK) was inaugurated by

Union Minister Vijay Sampla in Phagwara,

Punjab. Phagwara, Punjab will receive

maximum applications as it is NRI hub of state.

It will be considered as 192nd POPSK in the

country. It was launched with an aim to

empower women. Other staff will also be recruited as women such as postal assistants.

Post Office Passport Seva Kendra abbreviated as POPSK is an Indian government initiative

by the Ministry of External Affairs (India) (MEA) and the Department of Posts.

44. SC approved Centre’s draft Cauvery management scheme Cauvery management scheme was approved

by Supreme Court of India, so as to facilitate

proper and smooth distribution of water among

four South Indian states. Supreme Court

remained intact to its order dated February 16,

according to which Centre should frame the

Cauvery management scheme, including

creation of the Cauvery Management Board,

for release of water from Karnataka to Tamil

Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

The scheme, once finalised, would deal with the issue of water share of the four states in different circumstances like normal and deficient water years in the Cauvery river basin.


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45. ‘Green Good Deeds’ Movement Launched by Dr Harsh Vardhan Gets Global Recognition Green Good Deeds, the societal movement

launched by the Union Minister for

Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr

Harsh Vardhan, to protect environment and

promote good living in the country, has found

acceptance by the global community. Dr.

Harsh Vardhan had formally launched the

nation-wide campaign in January 2018. He

enlisted the cooperation of thousands of

people to adopt these deeds.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change had drawn up a list of over 500

Green Good Deeds and asked people to alter their behaviour to Green Good Behaviour to fulfil their Green Social Responsibility.

46. International Rail Coach Expo to be hosted by Integral Coach Factory Chennai For the first time, an International Rail Coach

Expo (IRCE) to focus on Rail Coaches and train

sets, was held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was

a unique platform to bring different suppliers

under one roof and create synergy for “Make

in India”. Many reputed rail car and equipment

builders will be showcasing their technology and products.

Railways will have Exclusive Rail Coach and train sets for display, 100+ exhibitors from

10+ countries, Exclusive platform to meet and interact with the decision makers of ICF

etc.

47. Smart Cities Mission - 1,333 projects worth Rs.50,626 crores under implementation Smart City Mission has lots of convergence with other

missions like AMRUT etc. and some of the projects are

implemented under Public Private Partnerships. 1,333

projects worth Rs. 50,626 crores have been completed

or under implementation / tendering. Overall projects

worth Rs.2,03,979 crores have been identified for all 99 smart cities across the country.

Smart Road projects have been completed in 4 cities

worth Rs.228 crores and are under implementation in

40 cities worth Rs. 5,123 crores. Smart Solar projects in 6 cities have been completed, while projects in 49 cities are under implementation.


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48. Prime Minister laid foundation of Work of Zojila Tunnel Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended

the commencement of work on Zojila Tunnel

on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway and laid

the foundation of the foundation stone for

Srinagar Ring Road and Jammu Ring Road. The

14 km long Zojila tunnel will be India’s longest

road tunnel and Asia’s longest bidirectional

tunnel. The construction of this tunnel will

provide all weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.

The Ring Roads and Srinagar and Jammu are aimed at reducing traffic congestion at these cities. The 42.1 Km, 4 lane Srinagar Ring Road is built at a cost of Rs 1860 crore.

49. Suresh Prabhu launched Intellectual Property mascot – IP Nani The Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri

Suresh Prabhu launched the Intellectual

Property (IP) mascot – IP Nani – at the

conference on National Intellectual Property

Rights Policy in New Delhi. Mascot IP Nani is a

tech-savvy grandmother who helps the

government and enforcement agencies in

combating IP crimes with the help of her

grandson “Chhotu”. The IP mascot will spread

awareness about the importance of Intellectual Property Rights among people in an

interesting manner.

This character is also in line with the World Intellectual Property Organization’s campaign for the World IP Day which celebrates the brilliance of the women.

50. Cabinet apprised of the MoU between India and Angola in the field of Electronics and Information Technology

The Union Cabinet chaired has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

the between India and Angola for promoting

bilateral cooperation in the field of Electronics

and Information Technology.

The MoU intends to promote closer cooperation

in the areas of e-Governance, HRD for IT

education, Information Security, Electronics

Hardware manufacturing, IT embedded

Software industry, Telemedicine etc. The

Ministry of Electronics and Information

Technology (MeitY) has been mandated to

promote international cooperation in the emerging and frontier areas of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) under bilateral and regional framework of cooperation.


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51. Cabinet approved MoU between India and France in the field of Renewable Energy

The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto

approval to the Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) signed between India

and France in the field of Renewable Energy.

Both sides aim to identify research/

demonstration/ pilot project between National

Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), India and

Commissariat aI'EnergieAtomique et aux

Energies Alternatives (CEA), France in the

mutually identified areas.

Based on mutual agreement, both parties would work for implementation & deployment of pilot project in ISA member countries.

52. Cabinet approved MoU between India and Denmark on Food Safety Cooperation The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto

approval to the Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) between India and Denmark regarding

cooperation in the areas of food safety. The MoU was signed on 16th April 2018.

The MoU will help improve food safety standard

setting by getting access to best practices and

facilitating food trade of important commodities. It

will further promote understanding of the best

practices in the areas of food safety in both countries and in faster resolution of issues related to food safety.

53. Cabinet approved MoU between India and Morocco on India-Morocco cooperation in Renewable Energy

The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto

approval for the Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) between India and

Morocco on India-Morocco Cooperation in

Renewable Energy. The MoU was signed on 10th April, 2018 in New Delhi.

The MoU aims to establish the basis for a

cooperative institutional relationship to

encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable energy

issues on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity. The MoU envisages

establishing a Joint Working Committee to review, monitor and discuss matters relation to areas of cooperation.


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54. Cabinet approved MoU between India and Singapore on Cooperation in the field of Personnel Management and Public Administration

The Union Cabinet has approved signing of the

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between

India and Singapore on Cooperation in the field

of Personnel Management and Public Administration.

The MoU will provide a framework for

cooperation between India and Singapore in the

field of Public Administration and Governance Reforms.It aims at achieving excellence in

public administration, good governance and public service reform, which in turn, would

ensure and promote greater public accountability. It also aims to bring about innovative

best practices, so as to achieve excellence in public administration in the context of improving online public service delivery.

55. Cabinet approved MoU between India and Turkey on trade in poppy seeds The Union Cabinet has approved the signing of

a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

between India and Turkey on trade in poppy

seeds to ensure quick and transparent

processing for import of poppy seeds from Turkey.

The MoU will promote quick and transparent

processing of quota allocation and prior

authorization for poppy seeds import from

Turkey. The MoU will ensure continuous

availability of poppy seeds in domestic market of India and ultimately Indian consumers

of poppy seeds will be benefited.

56. Cabinet approved USOF scheme for provision of mobile services in Meghalaya under CTDP for NER The Union Cabinet has approved

implementation of a Comprehensive Telecom

Development Plan (CTDP) for the North

Eastern Region (NER) in Meghalaya. The total

estimated project cost is Rs. 3911 crore to be

funded by the Universal Service Obligation

Fund (USOF). The enhanced cost of CTDP

Project for NER is Rs. 8120.81 crore (Rs.

5336.18 crore already approved by the Cabinet on 10.09.2014).

The Scheme entails:

1. Provision of 2G+4G mobile coverage in identified uncovered areas of the State of Meghalaya

2. Provision of 2G+4G seamless mobile coverage along the National Highways in

Meghalaya


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57. Cabinet approved restructuring of balance sheet of Scooters India Limited, Lucknow The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

has given its approval for restructuring of

balance sheet of Scooters India Limited,

Lucknow (SIL) by way of:

1. reduction of equity of Rs. 85.21 crore

in the share capital of SIL held by

Government of India against accumulated losses. The reduction would be deemed

to have taken effect as on 31.03.2013

2. freezing the interest on the Non-Plan loan of Rs. 1.89 crore released to SIL during

2012-13 from the date of its release to the company and conversion into equity

of the outstanding principal amount of Rs. 1.89 crore

58. The Ministry of Railways and BCL inked an MoU for 2018-19 Ministry of Railways and Braithwaite &

Company Limited (BCL), a CPSE under the

administrative control of the Ministry of

Railways, signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU). BCL’s core competency

is in the field of manufacturing new wagons,

repairing of wagons, steel structural fabrication

and manufacturing of cranes.

The MoU laid down the targets for 18-19, both financial and physical. As per targets

under MoU, BCL has projected Revenue from Operations of Rs. 285 cr. and wagon

production Rs. 1300 cr.

59. Ministry of Railways and RCIL inked an MoU for 2018-19 Ministry of Railways and RailTel Corporation of

India Limited (RCIL), a CPSE under the

administrative control of the Ministry of

Railways, signed a Memorandum of

Uunderstanding (MoU). RCIL is implementing

several Rail projects all over India for doubling,

New Line, Electrification, Workshops etc.

The MoU laid down the targets for 18-19, both

financial and physical, for various important

Projects. As per targets under MoU, RCIL has

projected revenue from operations of Rs. 1200 crore and several other target regarding

CCTV &Wifi at Stations development of Content on Demand (CoD) services on trains etc.


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60. Ministry of Railways and MRVC signed an MoU for 2018-19 Ministry of Railways signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with Mumbai Railway

Vikas Corporation Ltd (MRVC), a Joint venture

of Ministry of Railways and the Government of

Maharashtra, under the administrative control

of the Ministry of Railways. MRVC is

implementing Rail projects on Mumbai

suburban system under Mumbai Urban

Transport Projects (MUTPs).

The MoU laid down the targets for 18-19 for

various important activities of suburban projects. As per targets under MoU, MRVC shall

spend Rs. 1464 crore towards completion of various suburban projects of capacity

enhancement, safety up-gradation and passenger amenities.

61. Ministry of Railways and IRCON signed an MoU for 2018-19 Ministry of Railways and Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) International Ltd,

a CPSE under the administrative control of the

Ministry of Railways, signed an MoU with

Ministry of Railways. IRCON is implementing

several Rail, Road & other construction sector

projects in India as well as abroad.

The MoU laid down the targets for 18-19, both

financial and physical, for various important

Projects. As per targets under MoU, IRCON has

projected revenue from operations of Rs. 4200 cr. and other targets for important National

projects like USBRL project, Jogbani – Biratnagar Rail Link, Jainagar – Bijalpura,

ShivpuriGuna and Bikaner – Phalodi Highway Project etc.

62. MoU signed between DEPwD and ALIMCO for the Financial year 2018-19 Department of Empowerment of Persons with

Disabilities (DEPwD-Divyangjan

Shashaktikaran Vibhag), Ministry of Social

Justice & Empowerment signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with

Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of

India (ALIMCO) for the Financial Year 2018-

19. It covers major developments to be

achieved in this year for the Empowerment of

Divyangjan of the country.

ALIMCO is a “Not For Profit” Central Public Sector Undertaking working under the

administrative control of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.


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63. NITI Aayog and ABB India Sign Statement of Intent NITI Aayog and ABB India signed a Statement

of Intent (SoI) to support the Indian

government realize its ambitious vision of

‘Make in India’ through advanced

manufacturing technologies that incorporate

the latest developments in robotics and

artificial intelligence.

NITI Aayog will work with ABB across various

sectors of the economy, such as the power and

water utilities, industries like food as well as the heavy industries and the transport (rail

and metro) and infrastructure to suggest solutions for digitalization, incorporating the

Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.

64. Union Agriculture Minister released Model Agriculture Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2018 The Union Agriculture Minister Mr Radha

Mohan Singh released Model Agriculture

Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and

Services (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2018.

He also released a book titled

“Intrapreneurship and Management for Farmer

Producer Companies” prepared by Grant

Thornton.

Salient features of Model Contract Farming Act,

2018 are:

1. The Act lays special emphasis on protecting the interests of the farmers, considering

them as weaker of the two parties entering into a contract

2. Contracted produce is to be covered under crop / livestock insurance in operation

3. Contract framing to be outside the ambit of APMC Act

4. No permanent structure can be developed on farmers’ land/premises

5. No right, title of interest of the land shall vest in the sponsor

65. Union Cabinet approved scheme to set up over 4,000 mobiles tower in Naxal-hit areas The Union Cabinet has approved Universal Service

Obligation Fund supported scheme to provide

mobile services at 4,072 tower locations in Left

Wing Extremism affected areas. The Home

Ministry has identified locations in inhabited

uncovered areas of 96 districts in ten states. The

network will be used by the security personnel

deployed in the naxal affected areas.

Under the project, mobile services will also be

provided to residents in unconnected inhabited


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villages which would improve the economic activities in the region. The cost of the total

project will be 7,330 crore rupees.

66. E-catering facility launched on 23 major stations of Western Railway Western Railway has launched the e-catering

facility at 23 major stations on its network

enabling passengers to order food of their

choice from a wide range of restaurants and

food chains while on move.

The passengers can now avail IRCTC's e-

catering services at 23 major stations of

Western Railway. The stations are Mumbai

Central, Bandra Terminus, Andheri, Ahmedabad, Gandhidham, Surat, Nandurbar, Vasai

Road, Maninagar, Mahesana, Palanpur, Anand, Bharuch, Vadodara, Rajkot, Dwarka, Vapi,

Chittorgarh, Indore, Nimach, Ratlam, Ujjain and Nagda.

67. Cabinet approved promulgation of ordinance to amend Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code The Union Cabinet has approved promulgation

of an ordinance to amend the Insolvency and

Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The code proposes to

classify home buyers as financial creditors at

par with lenders to help them quickly get

refunds from defaulting companies.

The present amendment is based on

recommendations of a 14-member

government appointed committee that had last

month suggested a slew of measures,

including addressing woes of home buyers and making recoveries easier for lenders. Under

the code, financial creditor implies any person to whom a financial debt is owed. The

financial debt can include money borrowed for interest.

68. Cabinet approved ordinance to set up country's 1st national Sports University in Manipur The Union Cabinet has approved an ordinance

to set up the country's first national Sports

University in Manipur. A bill to set up the

University in Imphal is already pending in

Parliament.

The proposal to set up the national sports

university in Manipur was initially announced

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Rs.

100 crore funds for it were allocated in the 2014-15 budget. B.PEd, MPEd, Diploma /

certificate courses in coaching, physiotherapy, fitness, sports management, sports

journalism, etc. will be available at the National Sports University in Manipur.


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69. Government launched Samagra Shiksha scheme for school education Human Resource Development Minister

Prakash Javadekar launched Samagra Shiksha

scheme for school education from pre-school

to senior secondary levels. The scheme

focuses on improving quality of education,

enhancing the Learning outcomes and using

technology to empower children and teachers.

The government will provide an annual grant

of 5 thousand to 20 thousand rupees for

strengthening of libraries in the schools. The

scheme will be focused on digital education and it will enhance use of digital technology in

education through smart classroom and digital boards.

70. UGC approved regulations for online courses by universities University Grants Commission, UGC, has approved regulations

for online courses by universities. The higher educational

institutions and universities will be able to offer graduate,

postgraduate and diploma programmes online from this

academic session.

The decision will help top rated institutions to offer certificate,

diploma & degree programmes in full-fledged online mode in

only those disciplines in which it has already been offering the

same or similar programmes or courses at graduation level in

regular mode.

71. India-Netherlands-Sweden to collaborate for research programme on HIV/AIDS The Governments of India and The

Netherlands have launched the first-of-its-kind

collaborative research programme on

HIV/AIDS, between India, The Netherlands

and Sweden. The programme aims to harness

complementary research strengths and

diverse expertise to support the development

of better tools to understand and address the

global epidemic of HIV.

The programme will also focus on divergent human immune responses based on genetic,

immunological and behavioural determinants which will be key in developing new and

improved tools for treatment, prevention and possible cure for HIV in near future.


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72. UNICEF launches data visualization app on education scenario in India The UNICEF (United Nations Children’s

Emergency Fund) has launched a ‘data

visualisation app’. The app can be used as a

visual tool by policy makers, senior

government officials, academia, and

researchers to address gaps and monitor

programmes in the field of education.

UNICEF has developed the app in collaboration

with the National Institute of Education

Planning and Administration (NIEPA) and the National Council for Educational Research

and Training (NCERT).

73. PM Modi dedicated to nation 1st smart & green highway Eastern Peripheral Expressway at Baghpat in UP Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the

nation its first smart and green highway, the

Eastern Peripheral Expressway at Baghpat in

Uttar Pradesh. It has been built at a cost of

11,000 crore rupees and completed in a record

time of about 500 days against the scheduled

target of 910 days.

The 135-kilometre six-lane access-controlled

expressway is eco-friendly and has world-class

safety features. It envisages signal-free

connectivity between Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Palwal. It is India's

first highway to be lit by solar power besides provisions of rain water harvesting.

74. Prime Minister of Netherlands inaugurated Indo-Dutch Ganga Forum Prime Minister of Netherlands Mr. Mark Rutte

inaugurated the Indo-Dutch Ganga Forum to

take forward the Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) signed between the

Ministry of Water Resources, River

Development and Ganga Rejuvenation,

Government of India and the Ministry of

Infrastructure & Environment of the

Netherlands in June 2017.

The Netherlands government delegation also shared the experiences of their collaboration

with Uttar Pradesh government to reduce water consumption and employ cleaner

technologies in tanneries in Kanpur.


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75. India launched its second IT corridor in China India has launched its second IT corridor in

China to cash in on the burgeoning Chinese

software market. The National Association of

Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM)

has established one more Digital Collaborative

Opportunities Plaza (SIDCOP) platform in

China.

Agreements worth about six million US Dollars

were signed between Indian service providers and Chinese customers at the launch of the

corridor by China's Guiyang Municipal government and the NASSCOM. NASSCOM

established its first SIDCOP platform in the Chinese port city of Dalian, which is India's

first IT hub in China in December 2017.

76. Tata Trusts signs MoU with government to provide development support in Naxal-hit districts in Chhattisgarh The Tata Trusts has signed an MoU with the

government to provide technical and human

resource assistance to the special development

programme launched by the NITI Aayog in eight

worst Naxal-affected districts in Chhattisgarh.

The eight worst Naxal-hit districts are

Rajnandgaon, Kanker, Bastar, Bijapur,

Kondagaon, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Sukma. These distrcits were covered under the

"transformation of aspirational" districts programme. This programme aims to quickly and

effectively transform some of the most underdeveloped districts of the country.


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1. Sikkim's Pawan Chamling becomes India's Longest-Serving Chief Minister Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling became

the longest-serving Chief Minister of any state

in India after he completed 25 uninterrupted

years in office. Former West Bengal Chief

Minister Jyoti Basu had held office for 23 years.

Mr Chamling became Chief Minister of the

state in December 1994. Mr Chamling formed

the Sikkim Democratic Front Party in 1993. He

entered into politics at the age of 22 years.

2. Venkaiah Naidu visited World Heritage city of Old Guatemala The Vice President of India, Shri M.Venkaiah

Naidu visited the historic Antigua (old)

Guatemala city for understanding how it’s rich

heritage is being maintained since it was

declared as a World Heritage City by the

UNESCO in 1979.

VP Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu discussed at length

the conservation measures with the Mayor of

the city. India agreed to Guatemala’s request

for supplying solar panels to its airports. A MoU

was inked for India to train Guatemalan

diplomats and Guatemalan English Teachers in India.

3. President Kovind became first President of India to visit Siachen in 14 years The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind,

visited Siachen Base Camp and addressed the

soldiers posted there. President Kovind is the

second President of India to visit Siachen. The

previous visit was undertaken by President

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in April 2004. This makes

President Kovind the first President to travel to

Siachen in 14 years.

The President noted that Siachen is the world’s

highest battlefield and it is difficult to live even

a normal life in the extreme climate. In such a situation, it is extraordinary for soldiers to

stay in such state.

Persons in News


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4. Susheela Jayapal became first South Asian to be elected in Oregon Indian American Susheela Jayapal became the

first South Asian to be elected in Oregon in the

western US State. She defeated construction

contractor Sharon Maxwell to represent North

and Northeast Portland commissioner’s seat.

She has worked as a financial analyst at an

investment bank for 2 years and assisted as a

litigator at law firms in San Francisco and

Portland.

Susheela Jayapal has experience of working as

the General Counsel at Adidas America,

serving as the member of the senior executive team responsible for the legal affairs.

Oregon is a coastal U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest.

5. Shivangi Pathak became youngest Indian woman to scale Mount Everest Haryana’s Shivangi Pathak became youngest

Indian woman to conquer Mt Everest from the

Nepali side. She has also conquered Stok

Khangri, a 6,053-metre peak in Ladakh. She

was honoured with a certificate of being the

youngest Indian woman to scale the mountain

from Nepali side.

Around 244 climbers reached atop Mt Everest,

out of which there were 64 Americans, 59

Indians, 54 Chinese, 24 from Brits and 25

Nepalis. Shivangi was among 59 Indian nationals who scaled the peak.

6. Nima Jangmu Sherpa created world record by scaling 3 highest mountains in single climbing season Nima Jangmu Sherpa, a Nepali woman created

a world record by scaling three highest

mountains in a single climbing season. She

made her historic ascent on Mt Kanchenjunga,

third highest peak of the world on 23rd May.

Nima Jangmu has become only woman in the

world to climb three highest peaks in Nepal

above 8,000 meters in one season within 25

days. She had successfully scaled Mt Everest

on May 14 and Mt Lhotse on April 29.


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7. Sushant Singh Rajput to promote two major initiatives of NITI Aayog NITI Aayog has collaborated with Sushant

Singh Rajput towards promoting two major

initiatives of NITI Aayog - BHIM and the

Women Entrepreneurship Platform.

BHIM is a payment app that lets users make

simple and quick transactions using Unified

Payments Interface (UPI). The app was

developed by National Payments Corporation

of India (NPCI). Niti Aayog's Women

Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) is a unified

access portal which brings together women from countrywide to meet their entrepreneurial

ambitions.

8. Akshay Kumar launched twin pit toilet technology campaign in New Delhi Film actor Akshay kumar launched the twin-pit

toilet technology campaign in New Delhi. The

twin pit toilet technology is an Indian invention

that collects defecation for a period of five

years and then it turns into a valuable organic

compost.

The twin pit toilet technology is recommended

by the Government of India and the World

Health Organization. It is scientifically proven

that:

1. A pit in a standard twin-pit toilet model fills

up in roughly 5 years for a 6-membered family

2. The waste may then be easily re-directed to the second pit

3. In 6 months to 1 year, the waste in the filled pit decomposes completely

4. This decomposed waste is safe to handle and rich in NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus,

potassium) nutrients which makes it ideal for use in agriculture


85

1. 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held in Varanasi The 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held

in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh from January 21-

23, 2019. This year’s event would be

inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind

Jugnauth.

The theme of the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

will be “Role of Indian Diaspora in building a

New India”. The day commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa in

Bombay on January 9, 1915. The day also marks the contribution of the overseas Indian

community to the development of India.

2. India- South Africa Business Summit concluded in Johannesburg The first India-South Africa Business Summit

2018 was held at the Sandton Convention

Centre, Johannesburg. The two-day event was

organized by the High Commission of India in

Pretoria in partnership with the Ministry of

Commerce and Industry- Government of

India, the Department of Trade and Industry

(the dti)-Government of South Africa.

The Summit was marked by a MOU signed

between Invest SA and Invest India, strengthening a rapidly growing economic and trade

partnership between two strategic partner countries. The theme of the summit was "United

by Legacy, Unified for Prosperity!".

3. 9th India-Japan Energy Dialogue Held in New Delhi The 9th India Japan Energy Dialogue was held

in New Delhi.Both India and Japan with a view

to implement Nationally Determined

Contributions (NDCs) under the aegis of the

United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognized the

importance of development and deployment of

next generation technologies including

hydrogen to realize de-carbonization.

Both India and Japan appreciated the

relevance of the grid stability given the high penetration of variable renewable energy,

reiterated the continued importance of coal-based electricity generation in the energy mix

in both the countries and promote the cooperation on environmental measures for coal-

fired power plants.

Places in News


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4. 3rd edition of UNPCAP held in New Delhi The third edition of the United Nations

Peacekeeping Course for African Partners

(UNPCAP) was organized in New Delhi to build

and enhance the capacity of the African Troop

Contributing Countries to the UN.

The course is conducted by the Centre for

United Nations Peacekeeping in India (CUNPK)

in partnership with the US. It is aimed to build

and enhance the capacity of the African Troop

Contributing Countries to the UN and to further

train the trainers from these countries. The first and second editions of the course were

held in New Delhi in 2016 and 2017.

5. Skill India organized 'Ajeevika and KaushalVikasMela' in Bhubaneswar Skill India organized an Ajeevika and

KaushalVikasMela in Bhubaneswar array of

opportunities for youth to connect to new india

vision of the country. The KaushalMela

organized on the sidelines of the event, saw an

exhibition being put multiple stakeholders

including Sector Skill Councils, Bankers,

Training Partners, Industries, ITIs etc., which

provided counselling for the candidates and

their parents, and helped them understand

various opportunities available in the skill

development ecosystem.

More than 29 state of art multi-skill ‘Pradhan MantriKaushalKendras’ were also launched

digitally across the country by the Minister.

6. ‘Machined to Think’ a new exhibition of Nehru Science Centre inaugurated at Mumbai On the occasion of the National Technology day

a new exhibition “Machined to Think”, which

provides a bird’s eye view into the technologies

that are destined to usher in what is now hailed

as the "fourth industrial revolution", was

inaugurated at Mumbai by Dr. Anil Kakodkar.

It was displayed at exhibition that fourth

industrial revolution or the Industry 4.0, will

also be the new benchmark in production,

which will be an outcome of the many ground

breaking concepts that have resulted in a

quantum leap in the networking of humans, machines, robots and products.


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7. U.S. - India Aviation summit held in Mumbai In collaboration with the U.S.-India Aviation

Cooperation Program and the Government of

India, USTDA hosted the 6th U.S.-India

Aviation Summit in Mumbai, India. This event

convened senior representatives from the

public and private sectors in both countries to

identify opportunities to advance the robust

aviation partnership between India and the

United States.

The two-day summit promoted high-level

dialogue on bilateral aviation issues and

provided a forum to identify solutions that support the rapid growth of India's aviation

sector. The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) organized this visit on

behalf of USTDA.

8. UNDP to establish skill development centre in Hyderabad In order to provide skill training to women,

United Nations Development Programme

announced to set up a skill development center

at Hyderabad. It will be named as 'Bharosa’.

'Bharosa,' is a developmental initiative of

Hyderabad City Police to support women and

children victims of violence. Hyderabad police

has signed a MoU with UNDP.

UNDP India works to eradicate poverty while protecting the planet. UNDP works to

eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities through the sustainable development of nations,

in more than 170 countries and territories.

9. Physical and Social Infrastructure regional conference held in Guwahati Ministry of Finance, Government of India

organized two day regional conference on the

theme of “Physical and Social Infrastructure for

Regional Development” in Guwahati, Assam.

Two key points that were discussed in the

conference were low integration due to the

land-locked nature of the region and launch of

‘NITI Forum for the North East’ by NITI Aayog

which envisages that development projects in

the NER.

The conference was organized in collaboration

with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Research and Information System

for Developing Countries (RIS) and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and

Industry (FICCI).


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10. Indore once again emerged as India’s cleanest city Swachh Survekshan-2018 announced Madhya Pradesh’s Indore as the cleanest city of

India. It was followed by Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) at second spot and Chandigarh at third

spot. The Swachh Survekshan 2018 assessed 4203 Urban Local Bodies and was organized

by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

India's 'Cleanest big City' Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh)

India's 'Fastest Mover' big City Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh)

India's Best City in 'Solid Waste

Management (>10 lakh)

Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra)

Best Performing State Jharkhand

India's Cleanest Medium City Mysuru (Karnataka)

11. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus building completed 130 years of its construction

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (earlier

Victoria Terminus) has completed 130 years of

its construction on 20th May 2018. The present

day Headquarters building of Central Railway is

an architectural marvel. This magnificent

monument was originally planned as the office

of GIP (Great Indian Peninsular) Railway. This

is the most photographed building after Taj

Mahal.

Frederick William Stevens designed the

building. It took almost a decade to built it at

a princely sum of Rs. 16,13,863/-.

12. Smart Cities India 2018 Expo held in New Delhi The three-day Smart Cities India 2018 Expo

was held in New Delhi with a vision to help

develop attractive and safe cities that evoke

pride, passion and a sense of belonging among

citizens.

It consisted of five expos: Building India Expo,

Solar India Expo, Transport India Expo, Smart

Cities India Expo and Water India Expo. Over

300 exhibitors from different countries

participated in the 4th edition of this event.


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13. Six- day ASEAN- India Film Festival held in New Delhi The ASEAN India Film Festival was held at Siri

Fort Auditorium in New Delhi. Around 32 films

from 11 countries were screened during the

six-day film festival. The ASEAN film festival is

a platform for people of the film industry of

member countries to explore areas of

cooperation in the domain of cinema and

cultural cooperation.

Directorate of Film Festivals organised ASEAN

India Film Festival in collaboration with the

ministry of External Affairs as part of the series of events to commemorate 25 years of

ASEAN and India relations. The tagline of the festival was ‘Friendship through Films’.


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1. Maharashtra becomes first state to issue land document online Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to issue land

ownership document (7/12 extract of land) online and accept a

digital signature on it as valid. The 7/12 extract is a part of the land

ownership register maintained by the state’s revenue department

which includes the plot’s survey number, the name of the owner, its

cultivator etc.

The project is part of the Centre’s Digital India Land Records

Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), launched in August 2008. The

digitally-signed land records will also be available on ‘DigiLocker’.

2. ‘Vibrant North East 2018’ Held in Guwahati The 'Vibrant North East 2018' was organized in

Guwahati, Assam from 03-05 May 2018. It

comprised of Development Expo 2018, Agri

and Rural Expo, industrial Expo and North East

Development Meet. The event helped people to

gain awareness of central government's

schemes and programmes. It was the fourth

edition of the 'Vibrant North East' expo in

Guwahati.

The theme of the event was: Navigating the

Change ''NER- a New Frontier of Change in Economy''. The event was organised by Delhi-

based NGO, Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD).

3. Madhya Pradesh gets India’s 1st ICCC for its smart cities India’s first Integrated Control and Command

Centre will be established at Madhya Pradesh’s

seven smart cities. It is a major initiative taken

by Madhya Pradesh government under Smart

Cities Mission. Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior,

Jabalpur, Satna, and Sagar are the seven

smart cities under SCM in Madhya Pradesh. It

was launched in the first "Apex Conference for

the CEOs" of smart cities.

The ICCC is meant for monitoring status of

various smart civic amenities in real-time

through the sensors connected to it.

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4. Rythu Bandhu farmer scheme launched by Telangana Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekhar

Rao launched a new scheme for land-owning

farmers for Rabi and Kharif seasons, named as

Rythu Bandhu. According to scheme,

Telangana government will provide Rs.4,000

per acre each to land-owning farmers for Rabi

and Kharif seasons with special passbooks.

Around Rs12,000 crore in the 2018-19 budget

has been assigned for Rythu Bandhu scheme.

The scheme will help farmers get subsidy of

4,000 per acre for their two crops Kharif and

Rabi. Around 58 lakhs cheques were distributed on the launch.

5. Arunachal Pradesh inaugurated its biggest solar plant The biggest ever solar power plant of the state

Arunachal Pradesh was inaugurated by Chief

Minister Pema Khandu at Energy Awareness

Park. It has been done with an aim to fulfill the

rural electrification target, set by the Centre,

by the end of this year under Deen Dayal

Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana.

Arunachal Pradesh’s biggest solar plant, build

at the investment cost of Rs 8.50 crore has

capacity of 1 MW and is environment-friendly

in comparison to a gas-based project. As per

estimates, plant has generated more than 1 lakh units of electricity from the date of its

commissioning.

6. Gujarat inked MoU with Poland on organizing independence centenary Polish ambassador to India Adam Burakowski

and principal secretary of youth and cultural

affairs department V P Patel inked MoU to

celebrate the independence of Poland in Delhi

and other parts of the world at Poland’s

centenary independence celebrations.

As per MoU, Gujarat government will be the

co-organizers of the celebration. A programme

named as "generations to generations" will be

conducted on the king providing shelter to the

Polish residents.


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7. NTPC Limited of Bihar and Government of Bihar inked MoU A MoU was entered amongst Govt. of Bihar and

power utilities of Bihar for performance

improvement of power sector in the state of

Bihar. The MoU envisages transfer of Barauni

Thermal Power Station (720 MW) and transfer

of Bihar State Power Generation Company’s

equity in Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited &

Nabinagar Power Generating Company Limited

to NTPC.

All the three power generation facilities are envisaged to be transferred to NTPC. The

transfer of these power stations to NTPC will result in their optimal & efficient utilization,

bring the tariff down and benefit the people of Bihar at large.

8. One day Regional Conference on “Clean and Renewable Energy” held in Bhopal The one day Regional Conference on “Clean

and Renewable Energy” was held in Bhopal.

This was sixth such Regional Conference in the

series in a lead-up to 3rd Annual Meeting of the

Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure

Investment Bank (AIIB).

It was hosted by the Ministry of Finance,

Government of India in collaboration with AIIB,

Government of Maharashtra, RIS and CII

among others in Mumbai on 25th and 26th June, 2018.

9. HD Kumaraswamy sworn-in as new CM of Karnataka JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy was sworn in

as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka by

Governor Vaju Bhai Vala in Bengaluru.

Congress leader Dr. G Parameshwar took oath

as the Deputy Chief Minister. Congress and

JD(S) had come together to form the coalition

Government.

Mr Kumaraswamy is the 24th Chief Minister of

the state. This will be Kumarawamy's second

term as the chief minister of Karnataka since

2007, when he last held the post for 20 months.


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10. Maharashtra government introduced new scheme to help landless labourers Maharashtra Government has introduced a

new scheme to help the landless labourers

among the Scheduled Castes to acquire

agricultural land. The landless among the SCs

can now purchase four acres of rainfed

agricultural land or two acres of irrigated land

by paying only 5% of the cost. The rest up to

Rs Eight lakh will be born by the state

government.

This is a modified scheme as the earlier Dadasaheb Gaikwad empowerment of scheduled

caste landless labourers scheme was providing 50% subsidy.

11. MP cabinet cleared proposal to hike pension amount Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has cleared a

proposal to hike the pension amount by more

than double as per the Seventh Pay

Commission recommendations. The move will

benefit over 4,39,000 pensioners in the state.

The pension will go up by 2.57 times. The

pensioners will get the benefit with

retrospective effect starting from 1st of

January 2016.

The State Cabinet also gave its nod to the

proposal to double the monthly honorarium of Anganwadi workers to 10,000 rupees from

the present 5,000 rupees.

12. RIL Gets Green Nod for Rs 2,338 cr Expansion Project in Maharashtra Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has

received environment clearance for the

expansion and optimisation of its

petrochemical complex at Nagothane in Raigad

district of Maharashtra at an estimated cost

of Rs 2,338 crore.

The proposal is to expand the gas cracker and

downstream plants located at Nagothane

village in Raigad district by way of

debottlenecking, expansion and change of fuel in a captive power plant (CPP).


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13. Madhya Pradesh launched 'My MP Rojgar Portal' Madhya Pradesh state government has

launched 'My MP Rojgar Portal' as a part of the

'Ham Chhu Lenge Asman' Mukhyamantri

Career Counselling programme ‘Pahal'. The

portal will help provide jobs to youths as per

their educational qualification, skills and

interest and ensure availability of able

candidates to employers as per the need of

their business.

The portal was prepared by the Madhya Pradesh Skill Development and Employment

Generation Board under youth empowerment mission.

14. Congress' Ramesh Kumar elected as Assembly Speaker in Karnataka The Karnataka Assembly has elected

unanimously Ramesh Kumar of Congress as

the Speaker of the House. The BJP candidate

Suresh Kumar withdrew his nomination.

Ramesh Kumar had served as speaker

between 1994 and 1999 when H D Deve

Gowda and later J H Patel were Chief Ministers.

Ramesh Kumar started his political career in

the 1970s with the Congress party. He

represents Srinivasapur constituency in Kolar

district.

15. Telangana government enhanced retirement age limit for teaching professors of health department from 58 to 65 years The Telangana government has enhanced the

retirement age limit for teaching professors of

state health department from 58 to 65 years.

The cabinet has also approved the proposed

farmers insurance scheme under which every

farmer in the age group of 18 to 60 years will

be provided with life insurance coverage of 5

lakh rupees.

The cabinet fixed a premium amount of 2,271

rupees for every farmer per annum. LIC is

entrusted with the implementation of the scheme and the premium will be paid by the

government. The cabinet has earmarked 1000 crore rupees as budgetary provision for the

scheme.


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16. Tamil Nadu government ordered permanent closure of Sterlite copper plant in Thuthukkudi The Tamil Nadu government on Monday issued

a Government Order, directing the state

Pollution Control Board to seal the Vedanta

group's copper plant and close it down

"permanently".

Sterlite Copper is a unit of Vedanta Ltd which

operates a 400,000-tonne per annum capacity

plant in Tuticorin. 12 people lost their lives

during a large-scale violence on May 22

against the Sterlite copper plant. The locals

were protesting for the closure of the factory for 99 days.


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1. ACI Projects India as 2nd fastest growing nation for Air Passenger Traffic The Airports Council International (ACI) in its traffic forecasts

between 2017-40 has projected India to be the second fastest

growing country in the world for passenger traffic with 7.5%

growth rate. The report has put Vietnam at the top with a 8.5%

growth rate.

Iran ranks third in the report with 7.3% growth rate. By 2022,

passenger traffic in emerging economies would touch 5.4 billion,

slightly ahead of advanced economies at 5.3 billion. The AIC is a

global trade body representing airports across the world.

2. PM Modi most popular world leader on Facebook According to a study, "World Leaders on

Facebook" released in Geneva by Burson Cohn

& Wolfe, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is far

ahead of other world leaders, including US

President Donald Trump, when it comes to

popularity on Facebook. Over 43 million people

follow the Indian premier on the social media

platform.

US President Donald Trump, who rules the

other social media platform Twitter, is in second place with over 23 million followers.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen and Argentina's President Mauricio Macri

follow with 36 and 33 million interactions.

3. WADA reported India at 6th in list of doping violations World Anti-Doping Agency published its report

as per samples collected in 2016 and placed

India at joint-sixth in the list of doping

violations with 69 cases, same as that of

Russia. For three years in a row from 2013-15,

India were ranked third in doping violations.

Italy topped the rankings of drug cases in 2016,

accounting for 147 ADRVs, followed by France

(86), United States (76), Australia (75),

Belgium (73). Brazil and Iran are at joint eighth

with 55 ADRVs while South Africa is at 10th

with 50.

Reports


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4. India ranks 11th in AT Kearney FDI Confidence Index 2018 According to the Foreign Direct Investment

(FDI) Confidence Index 2018 released by

Global consultant AT Kearney, the United

States (US) topped the index, followed by

Canada at 2nd and Germany at the 3rd place.

India was ranked at 11th position. India was

ranked 8th in 2017.

The survey tracks the impact of political,

economic and regulatory changes on the FDI

preferences of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs)

and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of the

country.

5. India ranked 4th in Asia-Pacific on power index The Lowy Institute Asia Power Index placed 25

nations in the Asia-Pacific region on an index of

overall power. Overall power means economic

resources, military capability, resilience, future

trends, diplomatic influence, economic

relationships, defence networks and cultural

influence. It placed India at 4th place on the

parameters economic resources, diplomatic

influence and 5th on resilience.

The Lowy Institute Asia Power Index placed

USA at top spot in five of the eight Index whereas China at first spot across all parameters.

The Index is an analytical tool for economic and strategic importance of the Asia-Pacific

region.

6. Forbes' annual ranking of The World's Most Powerful People released Forbes' annual ranking of The World’s Most

Powerful People identifies one person out of

every 100 million whose actions mean the

most. The list was topped by Xi Jinping,

General Secretary of the Communist Party of

China followed by Russian President Vladimir

Putin at 2nd position and President Donald

Trump at 3rd position.

Russian President was ranked first in the last four years list. India’s Prime Minister

Narendra Modi scored 9th position. There were 17 new names on the list such as

Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud (#8) and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.


98

7. India ranked sixth on business optimism index Global Optimism Index released by Grant

Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR)

placed India at 6th position. The index was

topped by Austria followed by Finland,

Indonesia, the Netherlands and the US in the

top 5 positions. The index was prepared from

among 2,500 businesses surveyed in 37

economies.

According to global survey, global optimism has

reached net 61% in Q1, the highest in 15 years of research. The findings reveal that the

sharpest increases in optimism for the coming 12 months are in Europe and North America.

8. Mercom reported India as third largest solar market in world India emerged as the third largest solar market

in the world behind China and the United States

after a record 9.6 GW of solar installations in

2017 – more than double the 4.3 GW installed

in 2016. According to the report, the top 10

solar photovoltaic (PV) project developers in

the country accounted for over 62 percent of all

large-scale project installations in calendar

year 2017.

A common theme in the report was that most of the top companies in their categories

were well established players.

9. Pakistan key source of money laundering in UK: NCA Report According to an analysis by the National Crime

Agency (NCA) in London, Pakistan has been

identified among three main source countries

for money laundering in the United Kingdom.

While Britain is the prime destination for

corrupt “politically exposed persons” (PEPs) to

invest their funds, the most common source countries of those funds were Russia, Nigeria

and Pakistan.

The report titled ‘National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime 2018' was

released in London.


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10. India 6th wealthiest country with total wealth of 8,230 billion US dollars According to the AfrAsia Bank Global Wealth

Migration Review, India is the sixth wealthiest

country in the world with a total wealth of

8,230 billion US dollars. The US is the

wealthiest country in the world with a total

wealth of 62,584 billion dollars. China stood at

the second place with 24,803 billion dollars,

while Japan is at the third place with 19,522

billion dollars.

Other countries in the top 10 wealthiest list

include the UK, Germany, India, Australia, Canada, France and Italy. Globally, the total

private wealth held worldwide amounts to around 215 trillion US Dollars.

11. India stands 44th In Competitive Rankings According to a report published by the IMD

World Competitiveness Center, India rose one

place to 44th this year in the global competitive

rankings out of 63 countries. China has been

ranked 13th in the list.

The top 5 most competitive economies in the world are:

1. The USA,

2. Hong Kong,

3. Singapore,

4. The Netherlands and

5. Switzerland

12. India 145th among 195 countries in healthcare access, quality According to the Global Burden of Disease study, published by Lancet, India ranks 145th

among 195 countries in terms of quality and accessibility of healthcare. In 2016, India's

healthcare access and quality scored at 41.2 (up from 24.7 in 1990).

5 countries with the highest levels of

healthcare access and quality

5 countries with the lowest levels of

healthcare access and quality

Iceland (97.1 points) Central African Republic (18.6)

Norway (96.6) Somalia (19.0)

Netherlands (96.1) Guinea-Bissau (23.4)

Luxembourg (96.0) Chad (25.4)

Finland and Australia (each with 95.9) Afghanistan (25.9)


100

1. Uday Narayan Choudhary resigned from JD(U) Senior JD(U) leader and former Bihar assembly

speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary has resigned

from the party. Choudhary served as the

speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly for

ten years, from 2005-2015.

Choudhary represented the Imamganj

assembly constituency from 1990 to 1995 and

again from 2000 till 2015. He had contested the

2014 Lok Sabha elections on a JD(U) ticket

from the Jamui Lok Sabha constituency .

2. WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum quits Facebook over privacy intrusions WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum has

resigned from the board of Facebook amid

arguments over data privacy and the

messaging app’s business model. Koum,

together with his fellow co-founder Brian Acton,

sold WhatsApp to Facebook in 2014 for $19

billion.

WhatsApp became entirely end-to-end

encrypted in April of 2016. However, Facebook

used Whatsapp user profiles for data mining and ad targeting. In the wake of the

Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook’s privacy practices have come under the scanner

with momentum gathering behind the #DeleteFacebook movement.

3. AB de Villiers announced retirement from all forms of international cricket Former South African captain AB de Villiers has

announced his retirement from all forms of

international cricket with immediate effect.

The master batsman holds the record for

scoring the fastest 50, 100 and 150 runs in

ODIs.

De Villiers, who debuted for South Africa in

December 2004, appeared in 114 Test

matches scoring 8765 runs at an average of

50.66. He has 22 Test centuries and 25 ODI centuries to his name. AB de Villiers was

known as a '360 degree' batsman.

Resignations & Retirements


101

1. China launched new communication satellite APSTAR-6C China has launched a new communication

satellite "APSTAR-6C" from Xichang Satellite

Launch Center. The satellite was sent into orbit

by the Long March-3B carrier rocket.

The Apstar-6C satellite is based on a DFH-4

platform and was developed by China Academy

of Space Technology (CAST). It is equipped

with 45 transponders in C, Ku, and Ka bands,

with a designed service life of 15 years. The

satellite will provide TV transmission,

communication, Internet and multimedia services to customers across the Asia-Pacific

region.

2. NASA’s Mars lander to study Marsquakes set for launch NASA has launched its Mars InSight lander

from the Vandenberg Air Force base in

California. It is NASA's first robotic lander

dedicated to studying the Mars deep interior,

with instruments to detect planetary seismic

rumblings. Its name is short for Interior

Exploration Using Seismic Investigations,

Geodesy and Heat Transport.

The 360 kg spacecraft will land near to Mars

equator called the Elysium Planitia. U.S.

investment in the mission is now $814 million.

France and Germany have contributed an additional $180 million.

3. Mineral Found in Lunar Meteorite Hints at Hidden Moon Water A team of Japanese scientists led by Masahiro

Kayama from the Department of Earth and

Planetary Materials Science at Tohoku

University, have discovered a mineral called

moganite, in a lunar meteorite. The mineral

requires the presence of water to form.

The discovery suggests that hidden caches of

water ice potentially useful for human

exploration might be hidden under the surface

of the moon. The researchers estimate that the water content in the lunar soil under the

surface could be up to 0.6%.

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4. NASA’s Kilopower Reactor could power missions to Mars NASA and the Department of Energy’s National

Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have

successfully demonstrated a new nuclear

reactor power system that could enable long-

duration crewed missions to the Moon, Mars

and destinations beyond.

The demonstration, called the Kilopower

Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY)

experiment, was conducted at the NNSA’s

Nevada National Security Site. The prototype power system uses a solid, cast uranium-

235 reactor core. Kilopower is a small, lightweight fission power system capable of

providing up to 10 kilowatts of electrical power - enough to run several average households

- continuously for at least 10 years.

5. ISRO developed atomic clock for indigenous navigation satellites In order to measure accurate location data

using navigation satellites, Indian Space

Research Organization has come up with

development of an atomic clock to measure

precise location data. However, newly

developed clock will undergo performance

qualification tests. With this historic creation,

ISRO has become one of the few space

organizations in the world which has managed

to develop this highly creative technology.

ISRO is also in process of creating four backup

navigation satellites to keep the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NaVIC) effective, in

case when atomic clock shows error.

6. NASA and Uber unite to make flying cars NASA has signed a second space act

agreement with Uber Technologies, Inc., to

further explore concepts and technologies

related to urban air mobility (UAM) to ensure a

safe and efficient system for future air

transportation in populated areas. This is

NASA’s first such agreement specifically

focused on modelling and simulation for UAM

operations.

Under this agreement, Uber will share its plans

for implementing an urban aviation rideshare

network. NASA will use the latest in airspace management computer modelling to assess

the impacts of small aircraft in crowded environments. NASA will make the research

available to the broader UAM community.


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7. Gaofen-5 launched by China to monitor air pollution Gaofen-5' is an imaging satellite launched by

China for analyzing air pollution. It was

launched off the back of a Long March 4C

rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch

Center. Gaofen-5 is the first China-developed

satellite that can monitor air pollutants,

greenhouse gases, and aerosols with the help

of spectral information from ultraviolet to long-

wave infrared radiation.

With this launch, Gaofen-5 will be known as

the world's first full-spectrum hyperspectral

satellite for comprehensive observation of the atmosphere and land. It is known as the

satellite with the best spectral resolution among other China’s remote sensing satellites.

8. Astronomers found fastest growing blackhole of universe Astronomers discovered the fastest-growing

black hole known in the universe, describing it

as a monster sitting at the centre of our Milky

Way galaxy which would appear 10 times

brighter than a full moon. Black hole has the

ability to wash out all of the stars in the sky

and is thousands of times brighter than the

entire galaxy due to all of the gases it sucks in

daily that cause lots of friction and heat.

Scientists found it through spectrograph on

the Australian National University (ANU) 2.3-metre telescope to split colors into spectral

lines.

9. NASA satellites reveal major shifts in global freshwater In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists have

combined an array of NASA satellite

observations of Earth with data on human

activities to map locations where freshwater is

changing around the globe and to determine

why. A team led by Matt Rodell of NASA’s

Goddard Space Flight Center used 14 years of

observations from the U.S./German-

led GRACE spacecraft mission to track global

trends in freshwater in 34 regions around the world.

It was for the first time that NASA used observations from multiple satellites in a thorough

assessment of how freshwater availability is changing, everywhere on Earth.


104

10. NASA launched twin spacecraft to track global water cycle successfully NASA has successfully launched a twin

spacecraft to track the global water cycle along

with five communications satellites. The

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment

Follow-On, GRACE-FO, is a joint mission by

NASA and the German Research Centre for

Geosciences. The spacecraft lifted off on a

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg

Air Force Base in California.

Over its five-year mission, GRACE-FO will

monitor the movement of mass around our planet by measuring where and how the

moving mass changes Earth's gravitational pull. The mission monitors many key aspects

of the Earth's water cycle.

11. Researchers including 3 Indians build world's 1st wireless insect-sized drone in US A team of researchers at the University of

Washington in the United States has built the

world's first wireless fly-sized drone. It can

easily slip into tight places inaccessible to big

unmanned aerial vehicles. The insect-sized

flying robots could help with time-consuming

tasks like surveying crop growth on large

farms or sniffing out gas leaks.

The research team included three Indians-

Professor Shyam Gollakota and PhD students Vikram Iyer and Yogesh Chukewad. It

represents a milestone in autonomous flight that could launch a new wave of innovation

in aerial robotics.


105

1. Indian shooter Shahzar Rizvi tops ISSF world 10m air pistol rankings Indian shooter Shahzar Rizvi has topped the

ISSF world 10m air pistol rankings. Rizvi had

won silver medal in the recently concluded

World Cup in Changwon, Korea. He has 1654

rating points. The second placed shooter is

Russia’s Artem Chernousov (1046) followed by

Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsuda (803).

India's Jitu Raiis is placed sixth. Rizvi also had

won a gold medal with a world record score at

the World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico in March 2018.

2. Hockey India named Harendra Singh as men’s coach Hockey India (HI) has appointed Harendra

Singh as the Chief Coach for the Indian men’s

hockey team. He will replace Dutchman Sjoerd

Marijne, who returns to his job as the chief

coach of the women’s national side.

Harendra Singh had led the Indian Junior Men’s

Hockey team to the Junior World Cup title in

2016. He was appointed as Chief Coach of the

Women’s Hockey team in September 2017. He

led women’s team to Asia Cup title in Japan.

3. Lewis Hamilton won Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2018 Lewis Hamilton won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

2018. Kimi Räikkönen was second while Sergio

Perez of Force India team was third. Sergio

represented the first non-Mercedes, Ferrari or

Red Bull driver on any step of the podium in 16

races. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was fourth.

With this win, Hamilton topped the table for the

first time in this season leaving Vettel at

second with nine points of difference.

Sports


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4. Two Malaysian badminton players receive career-ending bans Two Malaysian badminton players, Tan Chun

Seang and Zulfadli Zulkiffli, have been handed

career-ending bans of 15 and 20 years

respectively after being found guilty of

corruption and match-fixing. The Badminton

World Federation (BWF) also fined Zulkiffli with

$25,000 while Tan was fined $15,000.

The duos were found guilty of breaching the

BWF code of conduct in relation to betting,

wagering and irregular match results. In 2011

Zulfadli beat current world champion Viktor

Axelsen of Denmark to clinch the World Junior Championships.

5. England overtake India to reach No.1 in ODI rankings following annual update England has overtaken India to seize the top

spot in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings

following the annual update. The 2014-15

seasons has been dropped from the latest

calculations while those from the 2015-16 and

2016-17 seasons are weighted at 50%.

Under the new calculations, England gained

eight points and moved to 125 points. India

lost one point and is in second place with a

total of 122 points. South Africa, New Zealand and Australia are the other teams in the

top five respectively.

6. Shashank Manohar elected as independent ICC Chairman for a second term Shashank Manohar has been appointed as the

independent Chairman of the International

Cricket Council (ICC) for a second term. He

became the first independent ICC Chairman in

2016.

In his first year term, Mr Manohar has led

significant reform of the sport, reversing the

resolutions of 2014, introducing a revised

governance structure, including the

appointment of the ICC’s first independent female Director.


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7. BBC confirmed as official radio broadcaster for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 BBC Test Match Special has secured rights to

broadcast ball-by-ball coverage of the ICC

Cricket World Cup 2019, to be held in England

& Wales. Test Match Special will be broadcast

to fans on multiple platforms across the United

Kingdom, including on BBC Radio 5 live Sports

Extra, Radio 4 Long Wave and the BBC Sport

website.

The broadcast of the ICC Cricket World Cup

2019 is part of a long-term deal with Channel

2 Group Corporation, ICC’s Global Audio Rights Partner.

8. Australia appointed Justin Langer as its new coach Cricket Australia has appointed former Test

opener Justin Langer as the new coach of the

national cricket team. He replaced Darren

Lehmann who resigned in the wake of the ball-

tampering scandal.

Langer has signed a four-year deal with

Australian Board. His four-year contract will

take in two Ashes Series, a World Cup and

World T20 tournament. Currently he was coach

of Western Australia and Perth Scorchers.

Langer played 105 Tests and scored 7,696

runs, including 23 centuries.

9. India's Neeraj Goyat is WBC Asia Boxer of the Year Indian boxer Neeraj Goyat has been conferred

with the WBC Asia Boxer of the Year Award.

Neeraj is the current WBC Asia champion in

welter weight category. Since turning pro in

2011, Neeraj has won nine fights including two

knockouts.

The Asian Boxing Council at WBC Asia and WBC

Muaythai annual awards presentation

ceremony in Bangkok bestowed Neerav

Tomar, promoter of IOS Boxing Promotions,

with ‘WBC Asia honorary Promoter of the year

2017 Award’.


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10. Mohamed Salah named Writers' Footballer of The Year Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been

named the Football Writers' Association

Footballer of the Year. Manchester City

midfielder Kevin de Bruyne came second with

Tottenham striker Harry Kane third. Salah has

scored 31 goals in 34 league appearances for

Liverpool this season. Salah had also won the

Professional Footballers' Association player of

the year award in April.

Chelsea and England forward Fran Kirby won

the inaugural FWA Women's Footballer of the

Year award.

11. Wimbledon champions' prize money hiked by £50,000 The 2018 men's and women's singles

champions will receive £2.25 million, an

increase of £50,000 on last year. The prize

money is slightly more than the Australian

Open's £31 million and marginally less than

the £34.5 million available at this year's French

Open.

Wimbledon has increased its total prize pot for

the 2018 tennis championships to 34 million

pounds ($46.57 million), up 7.6% from 2017.

Wimbledon, the only grand slam event to be

played on grass, will take place from July 2-15.

12. India, with 20 gold medals, topped South Asian Junior Athletics Championships Indian junior athletes bagged 20 gold, 22 silver

and eight bronze medals to keeep India on the

top spot in the 3rd South Asian Junior Athletics

Championships (SAJAC). Sri Lanka(12-10-19)

and Pakistan (0-1-1) took second and third

positions.

The two-day meet was held at Sugathadasa

Stadium in Colombo. The juniors will next

represent India at the 18th Asian Junior

Athletics Championships to be held in Gifu,

Japan in June 2018.


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13. France's player of the year award given to Brazil’s Neymar Brazil’s Neymar was honored with a trophy for

France's player of the year award. He scored

historic 19 goals in just 20 league games for

PSG and became world's most expensive

player. Neymar has been associated with PSG

since August 2017. He signed agreement from

Barcelona for a world-record 222 million euros

($264 million).

Other winners were Mbappe as young player of the year. He scored 13 league goals. Emery

won the coach of the year award.

14. Heena Sidhu won gold in 10m pistol International shooting championship Veteran Indian shooter Heena Sidhu bagged

gold medal in the women's 10m air pistol at

the International Shooting Competitions of

Hannover (ISCH), in Germany. She also

claimed top position in the 10m air pistol mixed

team event in the ISSF World Cup Finals in

Delhi with Jitu Rai.

Some other winners at the ISCH were Deepak

Kumar who won bronze medal in the 10m air

rifle event, Gagan Narang and Ravi kumar at

4th and 5th place respectively. Heena Sidhu is the first Indian pistol shooter to win a gold

medal in an ISSF World Cup finals.

15. Lewis Hamilton bagged Spanish Grand Prix Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won Spanish Grand

Prix. His competent Valtteri Bottas stood at

2nd place followed by Red Bull’s Max

Verstappen at 3rd position and Sebastian

Vettel at 4th position.

The 2018 Spanish Grand Prix is a Formula One

motor race that was held at the Circuit de

Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. 2018

race was the 28th time Barcelona has hosted

the Spanish Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher

has been the most successful driver at the circuit, with a total of six victories.


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16. First Para-National Games to be Held under Khelo India Scheme Bengaluru will host India’s first National Para

Games, on the lines of National Games for

able-bodied athletes under Khelo India

Scheme. The games will be organized by

Paralympic Committee of India for the age

group of 16 to 40 in 10 disciplines such as para

athletics, badminton, chess, blind judo, para

powerlifting, shooting para sport, para

swimming, table tennis, wheelchair basketball,

wheelchair fencing.

The Khelo India programme has been introduced to revive the sports culture in India by

building a strong framework for all sports played in our country and establish India as a

great sporting nation.

17. South Korean women's Hockey team won the 5th Asian Champions Trophy The South Korean women's Hockey team won

the 5th Asian Champions Trophy. The Indian

Women’s Hockey team failed to defend its

crown in the summit clash. South Korea has

lifted the title for the third time after having

won it in 2010 and 2011.

Indian striker Vandana Katariya was declared

player of the tournament while youngster

Lalremsiami was named as the upcoming

player of the tournament. Striker Navneet Kaur and Vandana Katariya finished as joint

top-scorer in the tournament along with China's Xiaoming Song.

18. Nadal won the Italian Open 2018 Rafael Nadal of Spain defeated Germany's

Alexander Zverev to win Italian Open title for

a record eighth time. With this win, Nadal

regained the world number one ranking. He

has now won three clay-court titles from four

tournaments.

The win is Nadal's 78th ATP Tour title and takes

him clear of John McEnroe into fourth place in

the list of most men's titles won in the Open

era. Jimmy Connors with 109 titles, Roger Federer with 97 and Ivan Lendl with 94 are the

others above him in the list.


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19. Lionel Messi won European Golden Shoe for the 5th Time Lionel Messi has won the European Golden

Shoe for a fifth time. The Barcelona forward

won the prize after scoring 34 goals in La Liga

this season. He had previously won the award

in 2017, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Mohamed

Salah of Liverpool was second with 32 goals

while Tottenham striker Harry Kane rounded

out the top three with 30 goals in the season.

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo has won it four

times -- the first coming with Manchester United in 2007-08.

20. WHO, Russia launched new campaign for football World Cup 2018 WHO along with the World Cup 2018 host

nation, Russia, has launched a new video

campaign to promote healthier and more

active lives. The WHO video says tobacco use

is one of the most damaging lifestyle choices

and is currently responsible for 16% of all

deaths in adults over 30 in the European

region.

The second video propagates that one can

significantly reduce risk of developing non-communicable diseases by eating salt upto 5

grams or less in a day. Third video emphasises that 150 minutes of moderate or 75

minutes of vigorous physical activity per week can enhance well-being.

21. Manika Batra, Mirabai Chanu sign up with IOS Sports Commonwealth gold medal winning table

tennis star Manika Batra and weightlifter

Mirabai Chanu have signed multi-year

agreements with sports management firm IOS.

IOS will now manage their endorsements,

appearances, brand profiling, patents,

licensing and digital rights, images, and

visibility on social networking sites.

Manika had bagged medals in four events in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games

at Gold Coast. Mirabai became the first Indian in two decades to clinch a gold medal at

the 2017 World Weightlifting Championship in Anaheim.


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22. Japan won the Uber Cup in the Women’s World Badminton Championship Japan's women clinched the Uber Cup, The

Women’s World Badminton Championship by

defeating Thailand 3-0 in Bangkok, ending a

37-year wait to regain the title. Japan entered

the finals for the first time after stunning China

in the semis.

It ends an Uber Cup drought for Japan that

stretches back to 1981. Earlier Japan lifted this

coveted cup in 1966, 1969, 1972 and 1978.

China won the title 14 times. The Uber Cup is

second in prestige only to the Olympics as a

national team event.

23. Real Madrid won Champions Trophy defeating Liverpool Real Madrid has lifted Champions Trophy

defeating Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev, Ukraine. It was

the third consecutive year that Real Madrid

have won the tournament and the fourth such

in five years, taking their total tally to a record

13 titles.

Real Madrid's forward Gareth Bale scored two

goals. He was declared the Man of the match.

Christiano Ronaldo became first player to win

five UEFA Champions League titles while coach Zinedine Zidane is the first coach to win

the competition three seasons running.

24. Tejaswini won Gold at Munich Grand Prix Former World Champion Tejaswini Sawant has

won the gold in the Grand Prix in Munich.

Anjum Moudgil of India won the Silver while

Austria's Olivia Hofmann won Bronze.

Tejaswini had won the World Championship

gold in prone in 2010 in Munich. She had

recently won gold in the Commonwealth

Games in Gold Coast.

In men’s rifle prone event, Chain Singh bagged

the silver while former Olympic and World champion Matthew Emmons of the U.S won the

Gold. Oleh Tsarkov (Ukraine) won Bronze.


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25. BCCI, UN Environment inked agreement to promote ‘green' Cricket in India The BCCI and UN Environment has signed an

agreement to promote ‘green' Cricket in India.

The partnership aims to spread greater

awareness about key environmental

challenges facing the country, and highlight

alternate and more sustainable solutions.

The BCCI will endeavor to reduce its

environmental impact by greening operations

and engaging cricketers and fans in green

initiatives. The partnership will also focus on

phasing out single-use plastic across stadiums

in the country.

26. Chennai Super Kings lifted their 3rd IPL title Chennai Super Kings lifted their third Indian

Premier League title after defeating Sunrisers

Hyderabad by eight wickets in the finals played

in Mumbai. Shane Watson was declared Man of

the Match for his unbeaten knock of 117 off 57

balls.

1. Emerging player of the season – Rishabh

Pant

2. Perfect Catch of the Season – Trent Boult

3. Stylish Player of the Season – Rishabh Pant

4. Purple cap – Andrew Tye

5. Orange cap – Kane Williamson

6. Most Valuable Player – Sunil Narine

7. Super Striker of the Season – Sunil Narine

8. Fairplay award – Mumbai Indians

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