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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

01st May, 2017 Ganga Cleanliness Pledge Day to be observed on May 2 i. The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) will observe 'Ganga Cleanliness Pledge Day' on 02nd May 2017 at various places in the river's basin states to spread awareness and ensure public participation in the program. ii. The events will be organized in 's Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Hardoi, Bithoor and Vidhur Kuti; Uttarakhand's Srinagar and Devprayag; Patna and Bhagalpur in ; Sahibganj () and (West ). to give Rs 35 cr to Bangladesh under 'Muktijodha scholarship' scheme i. India will give Rs 35 crore to children of freedom fighters in Bangladesh in the next five years under the new 'Muktijodha scholarship' scheme. ii. India initiated the Muktijodha Scholarship Scheme in 2006 for descendants of the 1971 Freedom Fighters. Until now, more than 10,000 scholarships worth Tk150 million have been disbursed. Former minister Ashwani Kumar to get Imperial Decoration i. Former Union minister Ashwani Kumar has been selected by Japan for this year's Spring Imperial Decorations, for his contribution to the strengthening of bilateral ties and promotion of friendship between the two countries. ii. The Presentation Ceremony for the Investiture of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun will be held at the Imperial Palace in on May 9. International Labour Day: 01st May i. International Labour Day, also known as International Worker's Day or May Day is observed on 01st of May every year to promote and encourage the international labour associations. ii. The day marks the victory of workers' movement for eight hours of work. It also aims to pay tribute to workers sacrifices in achieving economic and social rights all over the world. iii. In India, Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya will chair International Labour Day function in . Turkey's President Recep Tayyip on visit to India i. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was given the ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. The visiting dignitary will hold delegation level talks with PM Modi. ii. A number of agreements will be signed in several areas after the talks. The Turkish President is accompanied by senior cabinet ministers and a 150-member business delegation that will take part in a meeting of the India-Turkey Business Forum. 's Aymanam Becomes Country's First Digitised Panchayat ward i. Aymanam ward in the Kerala district on became India‘s first digitalised panchayat ward. Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar inaugurated the website of the first digitalised panchayat ward number 15 of Aymanam gram panchayat. ii. The minister launched the website www.digitalaymanam.com at the function. CM inaugurated state's 1st automatic weather station i. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated the State‘s first automatic weather station at Dongargaon in Vidarbha region. ii. With the installation of this station information from the stations would help farmers plan and manage the sowing process better. 0422 4204182,9884267599 1st Street Gandhipuram Coimbatore Page 1

Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 ii. In the first phase, information will be shared using SMS, and in the second, all gram panchayats will get half-hourly information on weather conditions. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) comes into effect from today (01st May 2017) The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) has come into force today, aimed to protect the interests of homebuyers across the country and bring transparency. Here are some key features of the Act- It aims to protect the interests of homebuyers across the country and bring transparency. The real estate developers will not be allowed to take advances and booking amounts from customers in yet to be launched projects till they are registered with RERA. According to the current guidelines, developers have to register their under-construction projects along with all the relevant details with RERA by July 31. In case a customer makes three consecutive defaults in payments, the developer will have to give three weeks‘ notice to the customer, and if no response is received, the developer can cancel the agreement. So far around 13 states and Union Territories (UTs) have reportedly notified their rules. These include Uttar Pradesh, , , , and Delhi. Google introduces 'Solve for India' campaign i. Google has announced the new "Solve for India" initiative, especially for tier-2 cities such as Pune, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Indore, Nagpur, Nashik, Madurai, Kanpur, and Chennai. ii. This program will aim to support entrepreneurs and developers of the country. Entrepreneurs will now have the opportunity to learn directly from Google engineers. Some of the areas will include agri-tech, healthcare, transportation, education, sanitation and more. Yusra Mardini appointed UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador i. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has appointed Syrian refugee and Olympic athlete Yusra Mardini as a Goodwill Ambassador. ii. Ms. Mardini, who has settled in , participated in the first ever Olympic refugee team at the Rio de Janeiro games in 2016. iii. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people. Russian Grand Prix 2017: Valtteri Bottas wins his first F1 race i. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) claimed his first Formula One victory, taking the flag at the Russian Grand Prix after a tense final few laps as he was chased down by Ferrari‘s Sebastian Vettel. ii. In the race, Sebastian Vettel finished in second and Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton stood fourth. Rafael Nadal Clinches his 10th Barcelona Open Title i. Rafael Nadal won a record-extending 10th Barcelona Open title by defeating Dominic Thiem of Austria. He collected his second claycourt title in a row. ii. Nadal, who won the Monte Carlo Masters for a 10th time last week, romped to the title without dropping a set on the newly renamed Rafa Nadal court at the Real Tennis Club in Barcelona. Pankaj Advani wins silver at Asian Snooker Championship i. India's top cueist Pankaj Advani lost to China's Lv Haotian in the clash of Asian Snooker Championship held in Doha, Qatar.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 ii. This is the first silver Advani has won this season, the rest all gold medals at the National Championships of Billiards, 6-red Snooker and 15-red Snooker, as well as the Asian Billiards Championship. Joshna Chinappa becomes first Indian to win Asian Squash title i. Joshna Chinappa scripted history by becoming the first Indian to clinch the Asian Squash title with a thrilling win over compatriot in the women's final. ii. The event was organized in Chennai. iii. In the men's final, top-seeded Max Lee of Hong Kong kept his tryst with glory, winning his maiden title beating India's Saurav Ghosal. Sufi legend Begum Yaman passes away at 52 i. Famous Sufi singer and daughter of legendary Sitar Maestro (late) Ustad Vilayat Ali Khan, Begum Yaman K. Khan has passed away after multiple organ failures. ii. She was 52 years old. iii. She was the recipient of ‗Hasrat Amir Khusrao Award‘ by Urdu Press Club International. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- Ganga Cleanliness Pledge Day to be observed on May 2, 2017 Uma Bharti is present Union Water Resources Minister NMCG stands for National Mission for Clean Ganga India to give Rs 35 crore to Bangladesh India to give Rs 35 crore to Bangladesh under 'Muktijodha scholarship' scheme. Muktijodha Scholarship Scheme in 2006 for descendants of the 1971 Freedom Fighters. Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh. Taka is the currency of Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina Wazed is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Md. Abdul Hamid is President of Bangladesh. Former Union minister Ashwani Kumar has been selected by Japan for this year's Spring Imperial Decorations. Shinzo Abe is the . Tokyo is the capital of Japan. International Labour Day is celebrated globally on 01st May It is celebrated to promote and encourage the international labor associations across the world Labour and Employment Minister of India is Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya Turkey's President Recep Tayyip is on visit to India The Capital of Turkey is Ankara Currency of Turkey is Turkish lira Kerala's Aymanam has become Country's First Digitised Panchayat ward Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment is Krishan Pal Gurjar He has launched the website www.digitalaymanam.com CM of Kerala is Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan and its governor is Mr. P Sathasivam Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated the State‘s first automatic weather station at Dongargaon in Vidarbha region The move will help farmers plan and manage the sowing process better

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

Google introduced 'Solve for India' campaign The initiative is aimed to support entrepreneurs and developers The campaign is for Tier-2 cities CEO of Google is Mr. Sundar Pichai and is headquartered in California, USA Alphabet Inc. is the parent organization of Google. UNHCR has appointed Syrian Yusra Mardini as a Goodwill Ambassador United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is the full form of UNHCR UNHCR was created in 1950 Filippo Grandi is the 11th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR is Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Valtteri Bottas wins Russian Grand Prix 2017 It was his first F1 win Sebastian Vettel finished in second in the event Valtteri Bottas is from Finland Rafael Nadal Clinched his 10th Barcelona Open Title He defeated Dominic Thiem of Austria Rafael Nadal is from Spain. Pankaj Advani wins silver at Asian Snooker Championship He was defeated by China's Lv Haotian Asian Snooker Championship held in Doha, Qatar Joshna Chinappa becomes first Indian to win Asian Squash title She defeated Dipika Pallikal Karthik Max Lee won in men's category by defeating Saurav Ghoshal. The event was held in Chennai, India. Sufi legend Begum Yaman passed away at 52 She was the recipient of ‗Hasrat Amir Khusrao Award‘.

02nd May, 2017 India and Turkey agree to strengthen co-operation in Combating terrorism i. India and Turkey have strongly condemned the ―use of double standards‖ in combating terrorism and agreed to strengthen cooperation in effectively dealing with the menace both bilaterally and at multilateral fora. ii. The joint statement was issued after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New Delhi. Centre launches 'One IP- Two Dispensaries' and 'Aadhaar Based Online Claim Submission' Schemes i. Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment, Shri Bandaru Dattatreya launched two schemes ―One IP- Two Dispensaries‖ and ―Aadhaar based Online Claim Submission‖ on the occasion of International Labour Day (1st May). ii. Under One IP- Two Dispensaries scheme has given an option to an Insured Person (IP) to choose two dispensaries, one for self and another for the family through an employer.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 iii. Under Aadhaar based Online Claim Submission scheme all EPF Members who have activated their Universal Account Number (UAN) and seeded their KYC (Aadhaar) with EPFO will be able to apply for PF final settlement, Pension withdrawal benefit and PF part withdrawal from their UAN Interface directly. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar launched Vidya-Veerta Abhiyan i. Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar launched 'Students for soldiers- a nationwide Vidya-Veerta Abhiyan' to encourage Universities to display portraits of Param Veer Chakra-decorated soldiers. ii. The aim of this Abhiyan is to instill a sense of patriotism and nationalism among students. iii. Mr. Javadekar launched the Vidya-Veerta Abhiyan to create 'walls of heroes' - displaying the portraits of the heroes in institutions of higher learning. Mr. Anthony Lianzuala takes over as the New Controller General of Accounts i. Mr. Anthony Lianzuala took over as the New Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance with effect from May 1, 2017, in New Delhi. ii. He is the First person from the North-Eastern Region to hold this position. Shobana Kamineni is the new CII President i. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has recently announced new office-bearers for the year 2017-18. Ms. Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd., has assumed office as the new President of CII. She is the first woman President of CII. She takes over from D. Naushad Forbes. ii. Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, is the new President-Designate, CII. iii. Mr. Uday Kotak, Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited is the new Vice President of CII. Defence Minister hands over DRDO developed devices to forces i. Defence Minister (Additional Charge) Arun Jaitley handed over a number of devices developed by the DRDO to National Security Guard (NSG), Delhi Police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). ii. The devices handed over in New Delhi to NDRF included 'E-Nasika', a hand-held equipment which is capable of rapid detection of chemical agents well below their toxic limits. iii. He also handed over to NSG an equipment called 'OTL-300'. It can instantly detect partially camouflaged optical elements, such as telescopes, binoculars and night vision devices. Dubai becomes first city in the world to get its own Microsoft font i. Dubai has become the first city in the world to get its own Microsoft font. ii. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai's Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council, launched the Dubai Font recently. iii. The font, available in three styles as 'Dubai', 'Dubai Medium' and 'Dubai Light', can be in italics, underlined and bold. Chandrababu Naidu bags USIBC award i. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been selected for the ‗Transformative Chief Minister Award 2017‘ in recognition for his role in advancing the US-India partnership at the state level. ii. The award by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) would be presented to Mr. Naidu during the USIBC West Coast Summit in Bengaluru (the Silicon Valley) on May 8. iii. Last year‘s recipient of this award was Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog. Aamir Khan launches Asha Parekh’s autobiography in New Delhi

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 i. Bollywood actor Aamir Khan launched renowned actress of her age, Asha Parekh‘s autobiography ―Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl‖ in New Delhi. ii. 'The Hit Girl' has been penned down by the renowned film critic Khalid Mohamed. Bharti Enterprises appointed Soumen Ghosh as MD - Financial Services i. Bharti Enterprises, one of India‘s leading business groups, has appointed Soumen (Sam) Ghosh as Managing Director of Financial Services. ii. Prior to joining Bharti, Ghosh was heading the Financial Services business at Reliance Capital as Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- India and Turkey signed an agreement to strengthen co-operation in Combating terrorism The agreement was signed in New Delhi Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the President of Turkey The Capital of Turkey is Ankara and its Currency is Turkish lira. Union Government launched two schemes ―One IP- Two Dispensaries‖ and ―Aadhaar based Online Claim Submission‖ Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment is Shri Bandaru Dattatreya International Labour Day is observed on 1st May. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar launched Vidya-Veerta Abhiyan The aim of this Abhiyan is to instill a sense of patriotism and nationalism among students Mr. Anthony Lianzuala takes over as the New Controller General of Accounts He is the First person from the North-Eastern Region to hold this position. Shobana Kamineni is the new President of CII Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal is the new President-Designate Mr. Uday Kotak is the new Vice President of CII Defence Minister handed over number of devices to NSG, DP, and NDRF The devices were developed by DRDO Important devices included 'E-Nasika' and 'OTL-300' Dubai becomes the first city in the world to get its own Microsoft font Dubai is the City in the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is Dubai's Crown Prince. Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu has been selected for the ‗Transformative Chief Minister Award 2017‘ The award is given by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) The recipient of this award for 2016 was Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog The name of Asha Parekh's autobiography is ―Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl‖ It has been penned down by Khalid Mohamed. 03rd May, 2017 World Press Freedom Day: 03rd May i. Every year, 3rd May is celebrated as the World Press Freedom Day. It is celebrated by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). ii. UNESCO, the Government of Indonesia, and the Press Council of Indonesia co-organized the World Press Freedom 0422 4204182,9884267599 1st Street Gandhipuram Coimbatore Page 6

Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

Day's main event and the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize Ceremony in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 1-4 May 2017. 4th National Standards Conclave held in New Delhi i. Department of Commerce, Government of India in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) has organized the 4th National Standards Conclave on 1-2 May 2017 at New Delhi. ii. The objective of the two-day Conclave was to bring awareness and prepare Industries, Central Government Ministries, State Governments, regulatory/standards-setting and conformity assessment bodies on the growing importance of ―Standards‖ in the changing scenario of global trade. Madhya Pradesh becomes 1st state to shift to January to December financial year i. Madhya Pradesh has become the first state to switch to the January-December financial year from the existing April- March cycle. ii. The move breaks a 150-year tradition as India started adopting the April-March financial year from 1867. So, now the Budget session of the next financial year will be held either in December 2017 or January 2018. Department of Telecom launches 'Tarang Sanchar' portal i. Manoj Sinha, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications and Minister of State for Railways, formally launched the 'Tarang Sanchar portal' in an event organized at New Delhi. ii. The web portal is for Information sharing on Mobile Towers and EMF Emission Compliances. The portal aims to generate confidence among the public about the effectiveness of the EMF compliance process in India. iii. Additionally, any person can request for EMF emission measurement at a location by paying a fee of Rs 4000 online. It is am an important move for Prime Minister‘s vision of Digital India. Mallikarjun Kharge appointed as new chairman of PAC i. Mallikarjun Kharge is the new chairman of the 21-member (14 from Lok Sabha and 7 from Rajya Sabha) Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament. ii. Kharge has replaced Congress leader K V Thomas whose term ended on April 30. iii. The chairman of PAC is appointed by the speaker of Lok Sabha. Shabana Azmi starrer 'The Black Prince' awarded at film fest in i. Hollywood film The Black Prince, featuring singer-poet Satinder Sartaaj and veteran actress Shabana Azmi, was awarded the Special Jury Remi Award at the 50th annual Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival (WHIFF). ii. The film is a historic biopic on the poignant life story of the last king of Punjab - Maharajah Duleep Singh. iii. The film is Directed by Kavi Raj. Rajive Kaul gets diplomatic service award from i. Chairman of Nicco group and past president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Rajive Kaul was conferred with the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit Sungnye Medal of the Republic of Korea for his services rendered as honorary consul general of South Korea in Kolkata. ii. The award was conferred by the acting President and Prime Minister of South Korea Hwang Kyo-ahn at a programme in New Delhi recently. The 44th Annual Daytime EMMY AWARDS 2017 announced i. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has announced the winners of the 44th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards held in California, USA.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 ii. The NATAS is a professional service organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within the television industry. Here is the list of winners- OUTSTANDING MORNING PROGRAM- Good Morning America (ABC) OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES- Steve Burton, The Young and the Restless (CBS) OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES- Kate Mansi, Days of Our Lives (CBS) OUTSTANDING GAME SHOW- Jeopardy OUTSTANDING INFORMATIVE TALK SHOW- The Dr. Oz Show (SYNDICATED) OUTSTANDING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS PROGRAM- Entertainment Tonight (CBS) OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES- General Hospital (ABC) OUTSTANDING CULINARY PROGRAM- Eat the World with Emeril Lagasse (Amazon). Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- World Press Freedom Day is celebrated on 03rd May It is organized by UNESCO UNESCO is responsible for coordinating international cooperation in education, science, culture and communication Irina Bokova is the Director-General of UNESCO UNESCO Headquarters based in Paris, 4th National Standards Conclave was held in New Delhi It was organized by Department of Commerce, Government of India Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman is the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce & Industry. Madhya Pradesh became the first state to shift to January to December financial year India started adopting the April-March financial year from 1867 The CM of MP is Mr. Shivraj Singh Chauhan Governor of MP is Mr. Om Prakash Kohli (Additional charge). Department of Telecom launched 'Tarang Sanchar' portal Manoj Sinha is the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications and Minister of State for Railways launched the portal. Mallikarjun Kharge has been appointed as new chairman of PAC The chairman of PAC is appointed by the speaker of Lok Sabha. The Black Prince was awarded the Special Jury Remi Award at the 50th annual Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival (WHIFF) The film is Directed by Kavi Raj Rajive Kaul gets diplomatic service award from South Korea He is present Chairman of Nicco group The acting President and Prime Minister of South Korea is Hwang Kyo-ahn Daytime EMMY AWARD is conferred by NATAS National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is the full form of NATAS The event was held in California, USA.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

04th May, 2017 Swachh Survekshan 2017: Indore is the cleanest city i. The 'Swachh Survekshan 2017' survey results were recently announced by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu. The total 434 cities of India were surveyed. Indore in Madhya Pradesh is India‘s cleanest city while Gonda in Uttar Pradesh is the dirtiest. ii. Gujarat has the maximum of 12 cities among the top 50 clean cities, closely followed by Madhya Pradesh with 11 and Andhra Pradesh with eight. Uttar Pradesh accounted for half of the bottom 50 cities in the cleanliness ranking. Top 10 clean cities of India in 2017 are: Indore (MP) Bhopal (MP) Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) Surat (Gujarat) Mysuru (Karnataka) Tiruchirapally () New Delhi Municipal Council (New Delhi) Navi Mumbai (Mumbai) Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) Vadodara (Gujarat). Top 5 Dirtiest cities of India (with Rank) in 2017 are: Gonda (UP)- 434, Bhusawal (Maharashtra)- 433, Bagaha (Bihar)- 432, Hardoi (UP)- 431, Katihar (Bihar)- 430. India to get world's highest railway bridge across Chenab river in J&K i. Around two years from now, the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir will be spanned by the world‘s highest railway bridge that is expected to be 35 metres taller than Paris‘ Eiffel Tower. ii. The massive arch-shaped structure, being constructed at a cost of around Rs. 1,100 crores, will rise 359 m above the river bed. iii. The 1.315-km- long ―engineering marvel‖ will connect Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar). The bridge forms a crucial link in the 111-km stretch between Katra and Banihal, which is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project. Cabinet approved Vijayawada Airport as International Airport i. Union Cabinet approved Vijayawada Airport as International Airport recently. ii. The decision has been taken as per the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014. There will be cargo handling facilities at the airport, which will encourage agricultural exports which will be a boon to farmers. Gadkari inaugurates The Highway Saga, SRISHTI exhibitions i. Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated two exhibitions namely 'The Highway Saga: Past Present and Future' and 'Safe Road and Inter-State Highways Transforming India (SRISHTI)‘ at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. 0422 4204182,9884267599 1st Street Gandhipuram Coimbatore Page 9

Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 ii. The exhibitions are part of the three-day India Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit (IITLS) being organized by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways from 3rd to 5th of May, 2017. iii. The Highway Saga is an exhibition depicting the evolution of road and the pavilion on road safety SRISHTI is a fun and interactive pavilion that seeks to enhance one's awareness of road safety issues. India expected to achieve 7.1% growth this year: UN report i. As per the UN report, India is expected to achieve 7.1 percent growth this year. ii. The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) launched its annual flagship report 'The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2017'. iii. The report said India's growth would edge up to 7.5 percent for 2018. auctions India’s most expensive limestone block i. Chhattisgarh successfully auctioned its third limestone block, Kesla-II to Dalmia Cement with the highest bid received 96.15% of IBM (Indian Bureau of Mines) prices which are 20 times more than the reserve price. ii. Kesla-II block is situated in the Tilda Tehsil of Raipur district of Chhattisgarh and covers over 357 hectares of area with an average grade of 43% CaO. iii. In terms of percent of IBM prices, this deal has broken the national record held by at 67.94 percent of IBM prices for its limestone block of Nagaur District. AIIB grants $160 mn for Andhra Pradesh power project i. China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has recently approved USD 160 million loan for a power project in Andhra Pradesh, the first credit from the bank for an Indian project. ii. The AIIB, in which India is the second largest shareholder after China, has approved the project with the objective to strengthen the power transmission and distribution system in Andhra Pradesh. Braj Bihari Kumar appointed as the chairman of ICSSR i. Braj Bihari Kumar, the editor of quarterly journals Dialogue and Chintan Srijan, has been appointed as the chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). ii. He has succeeded famous economist S K Thorat. iii. The HRD Ministry took the decision finalizing his name for the top post for a period of three years. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- The 'Swachh Survekshan 2017' was announced by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu Indore in Madhya Pradesh is India‘s cleanest city Gonda in Uttar Pradesh is the dirtiest city Gujarat has the maximum of 12 cities among the top 50 clean cities India to get world's highest railway bridge across Chenab river in J&K in 2 years It is expected to be 35 meters taller than Paris‘ Eiffel Tower The length of the bridge is 1.315-km It will connect Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar) Vijayawada Airport now becomes an International Airport The decision has been taken as per the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014 Chandrababu Naidu is the CM of AP and its governor is E. S. L. Narasimhan. Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated two exhibitions namely 'The Highway Saga: Past Present and Future' and 'SRISHTI' Safe Road and Inter-State Highways Transforming India is the full form of SRISHTI

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

Minister of Road Transport and Highways is Mr. Nitin Gadkari. As per UN report, India expected to achieve 7.1% growth this year India's growth would edge up to 7.5 percent for 2018 Antonio Guterres is the chief of United Nations Headquarter of UN is in New York, Chhattisgarh auctions India‘s most expensive limestone block The bid received 96.15% of IBM (Indian Bureau of Mines) prices The previous national record was held by Rajasthan at 67.94 percent of IBM prices for its limestone block of Nagaur District Shri Piyush Goyal is the Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, , New & Renewable Energy and Mines. AIIB has approved $160 mn for Andhra Pradesh power project This is the first credit from this bank for an Indian project Mr. Jin Liqun is the President of AIIB Head Office of AIIB is in Beijing, China. Braj Bihari Kumar has been appointed as the chairman of ICSSR Indian Council of Social Science Research is the full form of ICSSR He has been appointed for the period of 3 years ICSSR was established in 1969 to promote research in social sciences in the country. 05th May, 2017 Cabinet approves New Central Sector Scheme – SAMPADA i. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for restructuring the schemes of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under new Central Sector Scheme – SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) for the period 2016-20 coterminous with the 14th Finance Commission cycle. ii. SAMPADA with an allocation of Rs. 6,000 crore is expected to leverage the investment of Rs. 31,400 crore will benefit 20 lakh farmers and generate 5,30,500 direct/ indirect employment in the country by the year 2019-20. The objective of SAMPADA is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease agri-waste. Cabinet approves National Steel Policy 2017 i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017. It seeks to enhance domestic steel consumption and ensure high-quality steel production and create a technologically advanced and globally competitive steel industry. ii. The NSP 2017 aims to achieve 300 million tonnes of steel-making capacity by 2030. Key features of the NSP 2017: 1. Create self-sufficiency in steel production by providing policy support & guidance to private manufacturers, MSME steel producers, CPSEs 2. Encourage adequate capacity additions, 3. Development of globally competitive steel manufacturing capabilities, 4. Cost-efficient production 5. Domestic availability of iron ore, coking coal & natural gas, 0422 4204182,9884267599 1st Street Gandhipuram Coimbatore Page 11

Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

6. Facilitating foreign investment 7. Asset acquisitions of raw materials & 8. Enhancing the domestic steel demand. India's 1st private small arms manufacturing unit opened in Madhya Pradesh i. In order to Strengthen defence ties, India has opened its first private small arms manufacturing plant at Malanpur, Madhya Pradesh in a joint venture with Israel. ii. The plant has been set up as a joint venture Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems between Indian defence conglomerate Punj Lloyd and Israel Weapons Industries (IWI). iii. This is the first opportunity for the country to get its own 'Made in India' small arms. 'South Asia Satellite' launched today- Important Points to Ponder i. India has launched the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F09) carrying the GSAT-9 or the ―South Asia‖ satellite. ii. The satellite was lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. iii. Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka agreed but Pakistan is not a part of the project that was initially christened the SAARC satellite. Important Points of the Satellite- The lift-off mass of GSLV-F09 is about 2,230 kg which includes the satellite and its launch vehicle. The mainframe of the satellite is cuboid in shape, built around a central cylinder. The mission lifespan is 12 years. The satellite is meant for providing communication and disaster support and connectivities among the countries of South Asia region All participating nations will have access to at least one transponder using which they can telecast their own programming. Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the part of project The satellite will provide communication channels between countries for better disaster management as the region is prone to natural disasters. IBBI constitutes Technical Committee to lay down Technical Standards for the performance of core services i. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has constituted Technical Committee to lay down Technical Standards for the performance of core services and other services in accordance with Regulation 14 of the IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017. ii. The committee will be Chaired by Dr. R. B. Barman and the three members of the committee are Dr. Nand Lal Sarda, Dr. Pulak Ghosh and Sh. V. G. Kannan. iii. The Committee shall give its recommendation specifically on the matters namely- the Application Programming Interface; standard terms of service; registration of users; unique identifier for each record and each user. Madhya Pradesh Assembly declares Narmada living entity i. The Madhya Pradesh government has passed a resolution granting river Narmada the status of a living entity and committed itself to the protection of its legal rights. ii. A month ago, the Uttarakhand High Court had declared Ganga, Yamuna and their tributaries living entities with the status of a legal person. Reliance, SAP launch 'SARAL GST' solution for taxpayers

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 i. Reliance Corporate IT Park Ltd. (RCITPL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with enterprise application software major SAP SE to launch 'SARAL GST' solution for taxpayers. ii. According to the subsidiary of Reliance Industries, the new offering will enable taxpayers to be GST compliant and smoothly access the government's GST System, once GST is rolled out from July 1, 2017. Know About: The NABARD (Amendment) Bill, 2017 i. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2017 Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley in Lok Sabha on April 5, 2017. The Bill seeks to amend the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981. The 1981 Act provides for the establishment of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). NABARD is responsible for providing and regulating facilities like credit for agricultural and industrial development in the rural areas. India break into top 100 of FIFA rankings for 1st time in 21 years i. The Indian men‘s national football team has made it into the top 100 of the FIFA (International Federation of ) world football rankings for the first time in 21 years. ii. This upward movement is the result of away wins against Myanmar and Cambodia. iii. As per the updated rankings on May 4, India, with a total of 331 points, have climbed a spot and are now placed 100th. iv. The last time India had been in the top 100 of the rankings was way back in 1996, with the 94th spot in February 1996 being the country‘s best ever FIFA ranking. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- Cabinet has approved a New Central Sector Scheme – SAMPADA Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters is the full form of SAMPADA The objective of SAMPADA is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease agri-waste Cabinet has approved National Steel Policy 2017 It was chaired by Shri Narendra Modi NSP 2017 aims to achieve 300 million tonnes of steel-making capacity by 2030 India's 1st private small arms manufacturing unit opened in Madhya Pradesh It has been opened in a joint venture with Israel. IBBI constitutes Technical Committee to lay down Technical Standards for the performance of core services Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India is the full form of IBBI Dr. M. S. Sahoo is the Chairman of IBBI The committee will be Chaired by Dr. R. B. Barman. Madhya Pradesh Assembly declares Narmada living entity It provides all legal rights of a person to ensure 'Conservation of Aquatic Biodiversity linked with purity and continual flow of the River' Uttarakhand has previously declared Ganga and Yamuna Rivers as living entities Shivraj Singh Chouhan is the CM of MP. Reliance, SAP launch 'SARAL GST' solution for taxpayers The offering will enable taxpayers to be GST compliant and smoothly access the government's GST System. The NABARD (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was introduced by Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley. NABARD came into existence on 12th July 1982.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

NABARD was dedicated to the service of the nation by the late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi on 05th November 1982. NABARD Set up with an initial capital of Rs.100 crore. NABARD was established on the recommendations of B.Sivaraman Committee. B.Sivaraman former member of Planning Commission, Government of India. NABARD has its head office at Mumbai, India. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala is the Chairman of NABARD. India reached into top 100 of FIFA rankings for 1st time in 21 years Its current ranking is 100th The best Indian ranking in FIFA was 94th in 1996 Gianni Infantino is the President of FIFA. 06th May, 2017 MoUs Worth Rs 2 Lakh Crores Signed in the India Integrated Transport & Logistics Summit i. Thirty-four MoUs amounting to about Rs 2 lakh crores were signed in the three-day India Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit that was concluded in New Delhi. The Summit was attended by around 3000 delegates from India and abroad, which included central and state government organizations, international organizations like and ADB, delegates, global transport and supply chain experts and representatives of private companies. Haryana govt to offer meals at subsidized rates for workers i. The Haryana government has decided to open canteens offering meals at subsidized rates to registered construction workers under the "Antyodaya Anna Yojana" at 23 locations in the state. Besides, mobile food vans would be started at 23 convenient sites with a large number of workers. The promulgation of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 i. The promulgation of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 inserting two new Sections (viz. 35AA and 35AB) after Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 enables the Union Government to authorize the (RBI) to direct banking companies to resolve specific stressed assets by initiating insolvency resolution process, where required. The RBI has also been empowered to issue other directions for resolution, and appoint or approve for appointment, authorities or committees to advise banking companies for stressed asset resolution. ii. This action of the Union Government will have a direct impact on the effective resolution of stressed assets, particularly in the consortium or multiple banking arrangements, as the RBI will be empowered to intervene in specific cases of resolution of non-performing assets, to bring them to a definite conclusion. iii. The Government is committed to the expeditious resolution of stressed assets in the banking system. The recent enactment of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 has opened up new possibilities for time-bound resolution of stressed assets. The SARFAESI and Debt Recovery Acts have been amended to facilitate recoveries. A comprehensive approach is being adopted for the effective implementation of various schemes for timely resolution of stressed assets. Cabinet committee approves seven top-level changes in various banks i. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved seven top-level changes in various public sector banks. Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD, and CEO, Punjab National Bank, has been appointed as MD & CEO of Allahabad Bank. Sunil Mehta, Executive Director, Corporation Bank, has been appointed as MD & CEO of Punjab 0422 4204182,9884267599 1st Street Gandhipuram Coimbatore Page 14

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National Bank. The committee has also approved the appointment of Dinabandhu Mohapatra, Executive Director at Canara Bank, as MD and CEO of Bank of India. ii. G Rajkiran Rai, Executive Director at Oriental Bank of Commerce, has been appointed MD & CEO of Union Bank of India, for a period of three years with effect from July 1. R Subramaniakumar, Executive Director, Indian Overseas Bank, has been elevated as MD & CEO of the bank. RA Sankara Narayanan, ED, Bank of India, has been appointed MD & CEO of Vijaya Bank with effect from September 1. MO Rego, MD & CEO of Bank of India, has been appointed MD & CEO of Syndicate Bank with immediate effect. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- Thirty-four MoUs amounting to about Rs 2 lakh crores were signed in the three-day India Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit that was concluded in New Delhi. Nitin Jairam Gadkari is the current Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) is a Government of India sponsored scheme to provide highly subsidized food to millions of the poorest families. Manohar Lal Khattar is Chief Minister of Haryana. Kaptan Singh Solanki is the Governor of Haryana. Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 inserting two new Sections (viz. 35AA and 35AB). Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 has opened up new possibilities for time-bound resolution of stressed assets. The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (also known as the Sarfaesi Act). NPA stands for Non-Performing Asset. The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 was formed to consolidate and amend the law related to banking. NPA is a loan or an advance where interest and/or installment of principal remain overdue for a period of more than 90 days in respect of a term loan. Urjit Ravindra Patel is currently serving as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India since September 2016. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved seven top-level changes in various public sector banks. Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD, and CEO, Punjab National Bank, has been appointed as MD & CEO of Allahabad Bank. Dinabandhu Mohapatra, Executive Director at Canara Bank, as MD and CEO of Bank of India. Sunil Mehta, Executive Director, Corporation Bank, has been appointed as MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank. RA Sankara Narayanan, ED, Bank of India, has been appointed MD & CEO of Vijaya Bank with effect from September 1. 07th and 08th May, 2017 World Red Cross Day: 8th May i. World Red Cross Day is observed on May 8 every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross as well as the founder of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). ii. The theme for this year (2017) is ―Less Known Red Cross Stories‖ PM Modi addresses Indian heads of mission meet in New Delhi

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed an Indian heads of mission meet in New Delhi, which is brainstorming key foreign policy issues and challenges including India‘s engagement with major powers as well as strain in ties with Pakistan and China. ii. The four-day conference, was formally inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Country's 1st bio refinery plant inaugurated in Pune i. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the country's first bio-refinery plant which produces ethanol from the variety of biomass. ii. The project is situated at Rahu in Pune district. Mr. Gadkari stated that Plant can produce one million litre of ethanol per annum by processing a variety of agro-residue like rice and wheat straw, cotton stalk, cane trash, corn cobs with superior product yields. Odisha to introduce boat ambulances in four districts i. Odisha will introduce boat ambulance service in four districts where people face difficulties in getting health service. ii. The boat ambulance service will be available in the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Kendrapara and Kalahandi where people face problems in availing 108 ambulance service due to intervening large water bodies in the form of rivers and dams disrupting road communication, stated by Health and Family Welfare secretary P K Meherda. India organized festival in Egypt to mark Tagore’s birth anniversary i. India has organized a cultural festival in Egypt to mark the 156th birth anniversary of the famous Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore. ii. The Tagore festival is being organized by the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, the cultural wing of the Indian Embassy in Cairo which is conclude on May 12 with ‗Rituranga -Play of Seasons‘ and will be performed by members of the Indian community at the Hanager Theatre. iii. Rabindranath Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. He was the first non-European to win this prestigious award, in recognition for his collection of poems, ‗Gitanjali‘. Hinduja brothers top UK's rich list i. The Hinduja brothers have topped the 2017 list of the richest 1,000 people in the UK with an estimated fortune of 16.2 billion pounds, a massive 3.2 billion pound hike in their fortunes over the previous year. ii. Besides brothers Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja there are over 40 Indian-origin super-rich in this year's (2017) list which also includes a record number of British billionaires with 14 new ones emerging over the last year. 3 Indian scientists elected fellows of Royal Society i. Three Indian Scientist have been elected as the Fellows of The Royal Society, a premier scientific academy of the and the Commonwealth, for their ―outstanding contributions to science―. ii. Krishna Chatterjee from Cambridge University has been recognised for his discoveries of genetic disorders of thyroid gland formation. iii. Subhash Khot from New York University has been credited for throwing insight into unresolved problems in the field of computational complexity. iv. Yadvinder Malhi from Oxford University is recognised for his works on understanding the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems and its response to the pressures of global change, including climate change, degradation and

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 loss of large animals. Prabhat Kamal bezboruah 1st non-IAS to head tea board i. Renowned tea planter from Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah has been named the new chairman of the Tea Board of India by replacing Shri Santosh Sarangi, stated by the Union government. ii. With this, Bezboruah becomes the first non-IAS and an industry insider to be at the helm of the Kolkata- headquartered Tea Board, the governing body of the industry. Facebook Launches ‗Express Wi-Fi‘ in India i. Facebook has launched its 'Express Wi-Fi' commercially in India and the service is now available via 700 hotspots across four states of Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and . ii. For the expansion of service, Facebook has announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel for setting up an additional 20,000 hotspots covering millions of Indians over the next few months elected as i. Pro-European centrist leader Emmanuel Macron has been elected as President of France. ii. Mr. Macron will also become the first President from outside the two traditional main parties since the modern republic‘s foundation in 1958. conferred with Fellowship Award in UK i. India‘s icon Sachin Tendulkar plans to support charities and various initiatives to help the under-privileged people. ii. He has received the Fellowship Award at the 7th annual Asian Awards in UK. India‘s playback singer Adnan Sami won the award for 'Outstanding achievement in Music'. Saqib Majeed wins 2016 Wisden-MCC Cricket 'Photograph of the Year' award i.Kashmir based freelance photographer Saqib Majeed has bagged prestigious 2016 Wisden-MCC (Melbourne Cricket Council) Cricket ‗Photograph of the Year‘ for capturing a stunning image of boys playing cricket at the Nishat garden in the outskirts of Srinagar. ii. With this Saqib Majeed has become the first Kashmiri and second Asian after Atul Kamble to receive the prestigious award. Justice Leila Seth: First Woman Chief Justice of a State High Court Passed Away i. Leila Seth, the first woman judge of the Delhi high court and member of the Justice J. S. Verma committee that was set up to re-look at rape laws in India died of a cardiac arrest. Pakistani sitarist Ustad Raees Khan dies i. Legendary sitar player Ustad Raees Khan Passed awayd. He was 77. ii. Ustad Raees was born in 1939 in Indore, India in a family of musicians. He belonged to the Mewati Gharana of Indian classical music. Shiva thapa wins silver at Asian Boxing Championship i. Indian boxer Shiva Thapa ended up with a silver medal in the 60-kg category at the Asian Boxing Championships in Tashkent, . ii. Thapa also became the first boxer from the country to win medals at three consecutive championships. He lost the final match to Elnur Abduraimov from Uzbekistan as he got injured at the beginning of the Match. Great Britain wins Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament i. Great Britain beat Australia 4-3 in a thrilling hockey final of the 26th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh, Malaysia.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 ii. This victory came to Great Britain in the Azlan Shah Cup after 23 years. Australia is the world champions and had won the Azlan Shah title nine times. Great Britain becomes the first team from the British Isles to win the Azlan Shah title since 1994. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- Great Britain wins Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament. Great Britain beat Australia 4-3 in a thrilling hockey final. India outclassed New Zealand 4-0 to clinch a bronze medal. 26th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup was held at Ipoh, Malaysia. World Red Cross Day is observed on May 8 by International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) The theme for this year (2017) is ―Less Known Red Cross Stories‖ It is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant. Country's first bio-refinery plant inaugurated in Pune Union Minister for Road Transport and Highway is Nitin Gadkari. PM Modi addressed an Indian heads of mission meet in New Delhi It was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj India organized festival in Egypt to mark Tagore‘s 156th birth anniversary The festival will conclude on May 12 Shri Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 Cairo is the Capital of Egypt and its currency is Egyptian pound. Emmanuel Macron has been elected as President of France He becomes the youngest President of France Mr. Macron has succeeded François Hollande Three Indian Scientist have been elected as the Fellows of The Royal Society viz. Krishna Chatterjee, Subhash Khot, Yadvinder Malhi. Facebook has launched its 'Express Wi-Fi' in India Facebook has announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel for setting up an additional 20,000 hotspots Founder and CEO of Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg. Shiva Thapa wins silver medal at Asian Boxing Championship He also became the first boxer from the country to win medals at three consecutive championships. Asian Boxing Championship was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan The capital of Uzbekistan is Tashkent and Currency is Uzbekistani som. Legendary sitar player Ustad Raees Khan died at 77 Ustad Raees was born in 1939 in Indore, India. Odisha will introduce boat ambulance service The boat ambulance service will be available in the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Kendrapara and Kalahandi CM of Odisha is Naveen Patnaik and the governor is Dr. Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir. Sachin Tendulkar has received the Fellowship Award at the 7th annual Asian Awards in UK Adnan Sami won the award for 'Outstanding achievement in Music' Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah has been named the new chairman of the Tea Board of India He has replaced Shri Santosh Sarangi

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

Bezboruah becomes the first non-IAS to head tea board. Facebook has launched its 'Express Wi-Fi' in India Facebook has announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel for setting up an additional 20,000 hotspots Founder and CEO of Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg. 09th May, 2017 India unanimously elected as President of UN-Habitat i. India has been unanimously elected as the President of UN-Habitat, an organ of the United Nations Organisation. ii. Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu is chairing the four-day meeting of the 58- member Governing Council of UN-Habitat at Nairobi in Kenya that began on 8th May 2017. iii. The theme of the 26th meeting of the council is 'Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda' Haryana to start door-to-door survey to collect data of every resident i. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar has decided to gather a detailed data of every resident and issue a sleek identity for every house in Haryana. ii. The objective of this two-month long data generating exercise, to be launched on June 15, 2017 is to get details of land holdings and status of facilities. iii. The facilities includes social security pension, scholarship, MGNREGA, loans and LPG connection. During the survey, address of each house, location, details of owner of the house, bank account numbers, IFSC code and Aadhaar and personal details will be gathered. Techmagnate acquires BlogX, the largest blog conference in India i. Techmagnate, India‘s leading Digital Marketing Agency acquired BlogX, India‘s largest blog conference where bloggers and content managers connect. ii. In the event, top bloggers from across the country share their experiences and stories of journey towards becoming successful bloggers. The blogger‘s meet emphasizes on content, relationship and brand building. Ola ties-up with Airtel to roll out integrated digital offerings to customers i. India's largest cab aggregator Ola has partnered with Bharti Airtel to launch a range of integrated digital offerings to customers. ii. As part of the partnership, Ola will integrate Airtel Payments bank to its app and Airtel will integrate Ola's mobile wallet Ola Money as a payment solution on Airtel website and MyAirtel app for mobile recharges and bill payments. Oracle signs MoU with Jharkhand for cloud-based citizen services i. The Government of Jharkhand and Oracle signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) intended to improve cloud-based citizen services and to make Jharkhand an attractive destination for start-ups. ii. Oracle will offer its support to the state through its vast portfolio of technology solutions, including Oracle Cloud. iii. As part of the MoU, the Government of Jharkhand and Oracle will jointly explore and identify areas in which Oracle‘s latest cloud-based technologies can be used to deliver improved citizen services and to address the state‘s citizen and business requirements. DIPP & WIPO to set up Technology and Innovation Support Centers i. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have signed an agreement to establish Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC). ii. WIPO‘s Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC) program provides innovators in developing countries 0422 4204182,9884267599 1st Street Gandhipuram Coimbatore Page 19

Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 with access to locally based, high-quality technology information and related services, helping them to exploit their innovative potential and to create, protect, and manage their intellectual property (IP) rights. India to grow at 7.7 per cent in 2018-19: IMF i. India's growth is expected to rebound to 7.2 percent in the 2017-18 fiscal and 7.7 percent in 2018-19 after disruptions caused by demonetization, as per the IMF (International Monetary Fund) report. ii. According to the report, growth in Asia is forecast to accelerate to 5.5 percent in 2017 from 5.3 percent in 2016. Growth in China and Japan is revised upward for 2017 compared to the October 2016 World Economic Outlook. Sohail Mahmood to replace Abdul Basit as Pakistan‘s envoy to India i. The government of Pakistan has approved the appointment of Sohail Mahmood as Pakistan‘s next high commissioner to India. ii. Mahmood is a top diplomat of Pakistan and will replace the incumbent envoy to India Abdul Basit this month. Edelweiss Tokio launches India's first life insurance Product i. Edelweiss Tokio launched India's first and the simplest life insurance product that can be bought at a point of sale (PoS) has finally been launched. ii. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance has recently launched PoS Saral Nivesh the first product to be approved by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's (IRDAI) guidelines on point of sale-life insurance products. iii. PoS Saral Nivesh is a non-linked, non-participating endowment life insurance plan which offers both protection and saving. Jordan, US launch Eager Lion military exercise i. Jordan and the United States kicked off Eager Lion, an annual military exercise in Jordan with about 7,400 troops from more than 20 nations taking part. ii. Jordan is a key recipient of US financial aid and a partner in the US-led coalition battling Islamic State group jihadists in Syria and Iraq. Venu Rajamony appointed India’s Ambassador to Netherlands i. Press Secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee and senior diplomat Venu Rajamony has been appointed India‘s Ambassador to the Netherlands. ii. Mr. Rajamony will also be India‘s Permanent Representative to the Organisation for Prevention of Chemical Weapons based in The Hague and cover the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and other international organisations based in the Netherland. Emma Watson bags first ever ‘genderless’ award i. Hollywood actor Emma Watson picked up the first-ever Genderless Acting Award for the Best Actor category for "Beauty and the Beast" at the MTV Movie and TV Awards. ii. The star, who first became known for her role as Hermione in the Harry Potter films, is a feminist campaigner and UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador. "Beauty and the Beast" also won movie of the year. 'Lion' actor Sunny Pawar named Rising Star at Asian Awards i. Child actor Sunny Pawar, best known for his performance in the Oscar-nominated film Lion, has been chosen for the Rising Star Award. ii. The award will be presented to Sunny at the 7th Annual Asian Awards. He portrayed young Saroo Brierley in the film.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

Adil Hussain‘s Mukti Bhawan wins the Best Film award at the New York Indian Film Festival i. ―Mukti Bhawan‖, a movie about a man who accompanies his father on a journey to Varanasi, has won the Best Film at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF). ii. NYIFF was held in New York between April 30-May 7, 2017. Logo and mascot of Asian Athletics Championships unveiled in Odisha capital i. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has unveiled the logo and mascot of the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships scheduled to be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar from July 6 to 9, 2017. ii. Mr. Patnaik also formally announced Bhubaneswar as the host for the sports event. The mascot, named Olly Turtle, depicts the Olive Ridley turtles. Heena Sidhu wins bronze in Grand Prix of Liberation Plezn 2017 Shooting championship i. Heena Sindhu claimed a bronze medal in the women's 10m Air Pistol as India ended the Grand Prix of Liberation Plezn 2017 Shooting championships in Czech Republic with seven medals. ii. On the final day of the championship, Heena shot 218.8 in the eight-woman final, won by Greek shooter Anna Korakaki claimed gold medal sot 246.3 to finish ahead of Germany's rising star, Michelle Skeries took silver with a score of 237.8. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- India is unanimously elected as President of UN-Habitat UN habitat was established in 1978 India has been earlier elected as President in 1988 and 2007 M Venkaiah Naidu is chairing the four-day meeting of the 58-member Governing Council of UN-Habitat at Nairobi in Kenya The theme of the 26th meeting of the council is 'Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda' Jharkhand govt and Oracle signed a MoU intended to improve cloud-based citizen services CM of Jharkhand is Raghubar Das and Governor is Draupadi Murmu Headquarter of Oracle is in the United States of America. India to grow at 7.7 percent in 2018-19 according to IMF report Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 189 countries IMF is Headquartered in Washington, D.C. Managing Director of IMF is . DIPP & WIPO have signed an agreement to set up Technology and Innovation Support Centers Full form of DIPP is The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and full form of WIPO is World Intellectual Property Organization DIPP comes under the Government Of India-Ministry Of Commerce & Industry WIPO headquarter is in Geneva, Switzerland. Logo and mascot of Asian Athletics Championships unveiled in Bhubaneshwar Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has unveiled the logo and mascot 22nd Asian Athletics Championships will be held in Odisha The mascot is named as Olly Turtle. India's largest cab aggregator Ola has partnered with Bharti Airtel Gopal Vittal is the MD & CEO (India & South Asia) Bharti Airtel

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Emma Watson bags first ever ‗genderless‘ award for her role in "Beauty and the Beast" She is also the UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador "Beauty and the Beast" also won movie of the year at the MTV Movie and TV Awards. Haryana govt has decided start door-to-door survey to collect data of every resident and issue a sleek identity for every house CM of Haryana is Manohar Lal Khattar and Governor is Kaptan Singh Solanki. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance launched India's first insurance product Saral Nivesh that can be bought at PoS Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance headquarter is in Mumbai. Techmagnate, India‘s leading Digital Marketing Agency acquired BlogX Founder of BlogX is Manmeet Pal Singh and CEO of Techmagnate is SarveshBagla Venu Rajamony has been appointed India‘s Ambassador to the Netherlands. The capital of Netherland is Amsterdam and its Currency is Euro. Heena Sindhu claimed a bronze medal in the women's 10m Air Pistol at Grand Prix of Liberation Plezn 2017 Shooting championship Greek shooter Anna Korakaki claimed a gold medal and Germany's Michelle Skeries claimed a silver medal. 10th May, 2017 World Migratory Bird Day: 10th May i. The World Migratory Bird Day is observed every year on 10 May. ii. The theme of WMBD 2017 is ―Their Future is Our Future – A Healthy Planet for Migratory Birds and People‖. Supreme Court becomes paperless, digital court i. The Supreme Court has taken its first step towards becoming a paperless, digital court. ii. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the digital filing system at a function in New Delhi where the Integrated Case Management System will be connected with the Supreme Court website. SAMADHAN: Rajnath Singh coins an acronym to wipe out left-wing terror i. Presiding over a review meeting of the states affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced a new strategy against the Maoists—SAMADHAN. ii. The Minister explained the acronym as S-smart leadership, A-aggressive strategy, M-motivation and training, A- actionable intelligence, D-dashboard-based KPIs (key performance indicators) and KRAs (key result areas), H- harnessing technology, A-action plan for each theatre and N-no access to financing. DIPAM launches online investor facilitation platform i. The Finance Ministry has set up an Investor Facilitation Platform that will provide information about stocks of public sector units. ii. Set up by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), the platform will be an interactive forum for all stakeholders, including investors, investment banks, law firms, public sector units and administrative ministries that are involved in stake sales. Cashkaro.com ties up with YES Bank to launch card-linked offers i. Banking on the Government's drive to promote a cash-less economy, cashback portal Cashkaro.com has tied up with YES Bank to launch card-linked offers as part of its loyalty programme for both offline and online shoppers. ii. The offer will be currently available on all YES BANK debit cards, and will be extended to all other payment

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 products of YES Bank in the near future. Oracle launches cloud computing service for India i. Technology giant Oracle has launched its cloud computing service for India, which aims to support the government's GST rollout in July and plans to open data centres in the country. ii. In an effort to simplify the tax regime in India and to ensure higher compliance with tax laws, Oracle's ERP solution aims to provide support for GST Network integration, statutory reporting, payment processing, among others. Moon Jae-In began his five-year term as president of South Korea i. South Korea's liberal leader Moon Jae-In took the oath as president, tasked with navigating the country out of rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear program and the risk of a rift with the United States. ii. The National Election Commission said Moon, of the Democratic Party, took 41.1 percent of the votes, far ahead of Conservative Hong Joon-Pyo, his closest rival on 24.03 percent. Apple tops $800 bn market for first time i. Apple Inc became the first US company to top the $800 billion mark in market capitalization slightly more than two years after it crossed the $700 billion thresholds. ii. The iPhone maker's shares have gained 33 percent this year and almost 50 per cent since the US election in November 2016 and the company now represents about 4 percent of the $21.7 trillion that makes up the entire S&P 500 index. becomes world's highest wicket-taker in ODIs i. Jhulan Goswami, India‘s fast bowler, is now the leading wicket-taker in Women‘s ODIs, going past Australia‘s Cathryn Fitzpatrick record of 180 wickets. ii. She now has 181 wickets in 153 matches at an average of 21.76 with two five-wicket and 4 four-wicket hauls. She won the ICC Women‘s Cricketer of the Year award in 2007. N'Golo Kante named Football Writers' Footballer of the Year i. N'Golo Kante has been voted Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers' Association. ii. Kante is the fifth player in six seasons to complete the awards double having last month been named Player of the Year by the Professional Footballers' Association. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- 2017 ICC Women's World Cup will be hosted by England 2013 ICC Women's World Cup won by Australia In 2010 and 2012, Jhulan Goswami was conferred with Arjuna Award and Padam Shri respectively. Moon Jae-In has replaced Park Geun-Hye Capital of South Koria is Seoul and its Currency is Won (KRW) The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal The Supreme Court of India came into existence on 26th January, 1950 The First Chief Justice of Supreme Court was Harilal Jekisundas Kania. Union Home Minister of India is Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh announced a new strategy against the Maoists—SAMADHAN. DIPAM is headed by Finance Minister of India Shri Arun Jaitley From 27th May, 2004, the Department of Disinvestment is one of the Departments under the Ministry of Finance

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

The Department of Disinvestment was set up as a separate Department on 10th December, 1999 and was later renamed as Ministry of Disinvestment from 6th September, 2001 The Department of Disinvestment has been renamed as Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) from 14th April, 2016. The GST is governed by GST Council and its Chairman is Union Finance Minister of India Arun Jaitley. GST is a destination-based tax on consumption of goods and services It is amalgamating a large number of Central and State taxes into a single tax Oracle headquarter is in the United States of America. World Migratory Bird Day is observed on 10th May The theme of WMBD 2017 is ―Their Future is Our Future – A Healthy Planet for Migratory Birds and People‖ Yes Bank CEO and MD is Rana Kapoor Headquarter of Yes Bank in Mumbai The tagline of Yes Bank is 'Experience our Expertise'. 11th May, 2017 India celebrates National Technology Day: 11th May i. On 11th May 1998 India achieved a major technological breakthrough by successfully carrying out nuclear tests at Pokhran, Rajasthan. ii. Technology Development Board, Ministry of Science and Technology is celebrating 19th National Technology Day, at Vigyan Bhawan. The theme of the function is ―Technology for inclusive and sustainable growth‖. PM launches integrated case management system of Supreme Court i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the integrated case management system of the Supreme Court in the presence of the Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar. ii. The system will help litigants access data and retrieve information online and will be a step towards a paperless Supreme Court. iii. It will help usher transparency, reduce manipulation and help the litigant know about the progress of the case on a real-time basis. Government sets up a high-level task force to compute timely data on employment i. The government of India has set up a high-level task force to compute timely data on employment in the country, a move that will go a long way to help government frame policies and take steps that can create jobs in the country. ii. The task force has been created under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog's vice chairman Arvind Panagariya. The other members of the task force are labor secretary Sathiyavathy, secretary statistics T.C.A. Ananth, Pulak Ghosh of NITI Aayog and Manish Sabharwal (member RBI Board). India, Russia agree to work closely in various sectors i. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dimitry Rogozin arrived in New Delhi recently on a one-day visit to attend IRIGC- TEC meeting. ii. India and Russia agreed to work closely in various sectors, including security, nuclear energy, and disaster management. IFSC at GIFT inks pact with GNLU to start course on IFSC regulations i. India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat International Finance-Tec City (GIFT) entered into an agreement with Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) to collaborate on efforts for Skill Development in 0422 4204182,9884267599 1st Street Gandhipuram Coimbatore Page 24

Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 the field of International Financial Services & Regulations. ii. Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), GNLU will introduce a new course on International Financial Services Centre from its June 2017 Semester. It will also organize a program for Lawyers covering IFSC, International Arbitration and related fields. Dena Bank classifies Videocon loan as ‘bad’ i. Dena Bank has become the first lender to classify Videocon Industries as a bad loan. With the default on payments, Dena Bank has declared Videocon Industries account as non-performing asset (NPA) in the fourth quarter ended March 2017. ii. The total exposure of lenders to the electronic goods maker has pegged at approx Rs 40,000 crore. Sebi allows investors to buy mutual funds via digital wallet i. Markets regulator Security and Exchange board of India (Sebi) allowed investors to buy mutual fund schemes for up to Rs 50,000 through digital wallets, making it easier for them especially the young generation to purchase these instruments. ii. The move is part of the efforts to promote digital payments in the MF industry and channelise household savings into the capital market. 29th edition of CORPAT between India-Indonesia begins in Port Blair i. The 29th edition of Co-ordinated Patrol (CORPAT) between India-Indonesia commenced in Port Blair. ii. The Indonesian Naval Ship KRI Sutedi Senoputra has arrived at Haddo Wharf, Port Blair to mark the commencement of the IND–INDO CORPAT. The closing ceremony of the CORPAT is scheduled at Belawan, Indonesia from 22 – 25 May 2017. Indian Navy ships; INS Karwar and Kakinada decommissioned i. Two minesweepers of the Indian Navy INS Karwar and INS Kakinada were decommissioned after being in service for over 30 years. ii. The two ships were bid adieu at a ceremony in the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai in the presence of Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba. iii. INS Karwar was the first of the ‗Natya‘ class minesweepers acquired from the erstwhile Soviet Union. The ship was commissioned on July 14, 1986.INS Kakinada was the second of the class and was commissioned on December 23, 1986. India, US officials discuss strengthening maritime security cooperation i. Top Indian and American officials discussed ways to strengthen maritime security cooperation during the two-day India-US Maritime Security Dialogue in Rhode Island. ii. The implementation of the decisions taken at the first Maritime Security Dialogue between the two countries. IRCTC launches cash-on-delivery for train tickets i. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is now offering home delivery of rail tickets and will allow passengers to make payment through any payment mode, including cash. ii. Broad-basing the customer service, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation has now introduced pay- on-delivery (PoD) service, allowing passengers to book train tickets online and pay at the time of delivery. Railways to acquire EoTT system to run trains without guards i. The Indian Railways will float global tenders worth over ₹100 crore for acquiring End of Train Telemetry (EoTT) equipment to run 1,000 trains without guards.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 ii. This equipment is used to establish communication between the locomotive driver and the last wagon of the train to ensure that the train is running with all coaches/wagons as a complete unit. iii. EoTT system comprises two units — one unit called cab display unit (CDU) fitted on the locomotive and the other is sense and brake unit (SBU) fitted on the last coach or wagon of the train. Sanjay Mitra appointed as Defence Secretary i. The government has named Road Transport and Highways Secretary Sanjay Mitra as its new defence secretary in a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle. ii. Mitra will take over as the secretary after the present incumbent, G Mohan Kumar, completes his tenure on May 24,2017 an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). elevates Taranjeet Singh as Country Director for India i. Microblogging platform Twitter has elevated Taranjeet Singh as its Country Director for India. Mr. Singh was earlier leading the charge for sales and marketing support for Twitter‘s advertisers in India. ii. Recently, Twitter had launched a lighter version of its platform 'Twitter Lite' for users in India. Konkona bags Best Director and Best Actress awards at New York Indian Film Festival i. Konkona Sensharma has been named the best director for her directorial debut ‗A Death in the Gunj‘ and the best actress for ‗Lipstick Under My Burkha‘ at 2017's New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF). ii. Presented by the Indo-American Arts Council, the film festival took place from April 30 to May 7, 2017. NBA inaugurates academy in India i. In a promising step for Indian basketball, the national Basketball Association (NBA) inaugurated its first ever academy in Greater Noida. ii. This is latest of the several steps that the National Basketball Association (NBA) the governing body of the game in US has taken to promote the game in India over the past few years. Senior NCP leader A T Pawar Passes away i. Senior NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Arjun Tulshiram Pawar passed away after prolonged illness. ii. The leader, who had for many years represented Kalwan, a constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes in Nashik district, lost the 2014 state Assembly election. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- Railway Minister of India is Suresh Prabhu Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation was founded in 1999 IRCTC headquarter is in New Delhi. Road Transport and Highways Secretary is Sanjay Mitra Sanjay Mitra takes over as the new defence secretary after the replacing of G Mohan Kumar. Railway Minister of India is Suresh Prabhu First Railway Minister of India is John Mathai. Jagdish Singh Khehar is the 44th Chief Justice of India after replacing of Justice Tirath Singh Thakur Supreme Court becomes Paperless moving towards Digital Court. Prof. Ashutosh Sharma is the chairperson of Technology Development Board The Government of India constituted the Technology Development Board (TDB) in September 1996, under the Technology Development Board Act, 1995 Port Blair is the Capital of Andaman and Nicobar

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

Sunil Lanba is the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) of Indian Navy. The Securities and Exchange Board of India was established on April 12, 1992 in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992. Chairman of SEBI is Ajay Tyagi after replacing of U.K. Sinha Sebi headquarter is in Mumbai. The vice chairman of NITI Aayog is Mr. Arvind Panagariya Jack Dorsey is the CEO of Twitter Headquarter of Twitter is in California, USA. The official name for Russia is the Russian Federation Lake Baikal, the world‘s oldest and deepest freshwater lake is in Russia Dmitry Medvedev is the current PM of Russia The capital of Russia is Moscow and its currency is Russian ruble. Dena Bank headquarter is in Mumbai Chairman of Dena Bank is Shri. Ashwani Kumar The tagline of Dena Bank is 'Trusted Family Bank'. Full form of IFSC is International Financial Services Centre Full form of GNLU is Gujarat National Law University Full form of GIFT is Gujarat International Finance-Tec City. 12th May 2017 PM Modi visits Sri Lanka i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on the two-day visit to Sri Lanka which is a sign of ―strong relationship‖ between the two countries and brings to the fore the shared heritage of Buddhism. ii. During his two-day visit, he will participate in the International Vesak Day celebrations, the biggest festival of Buddhists, inaugurate a hospital built with Indian assistance and address the Indian-origin Tamil community, besides attending some other programs. Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister launch e-Krishi Samvad i. Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launched e-Krishi Samvad an online interface at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi. ii. It is an internet-based interface and is a unique platform that will provide direct and effective solutions to the problems faced by farmers and stakeholders in the agriculture sector. Nitin Gadkari launches NHAI's Masala Bond in UK i. Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari launched the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Masala Bond at the Stock Exchange, UK. ii. The initially benchmarked issue of Rs. 1,500 crore was upsized to Rs. 3,000 crore at a price yielding 7.30 percent annually in view of the highly positive response from the investor market. iii. The transaction marks the largest ever in the five-year issuance and the largest inaugural transaction in Masala Bond market. India to replace Maitri station in Antarctica, expand research activity

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 i. India has decided to replace the Maitri research station in Antarctica with a new one in the next three to four years. ii. The country is also drafting laws to safeguard its interest in Antarctica and is poised to expand its research activity in the coldest continent with the special ice-cutting facility will be procured for the purpose. SBI revises service charges; to charge ATM withdrawals at Rs. 25 i. State Bank of India (SBI) has announced another revision in service charges with effect from June 1, 2017. All cash withdrawals through ATM will now be charged at Rs. 25 per transaction. Only RuPay classic card will be issued for free. ii. State Bank of India has clarified that the proposed hike in ATM withdrawal charges will be applicable only to customers of its mobile wallet State Bank Buddy. Few major changes done by SBI are as follows- 1. Limit of four ATM withdrawals in a month only applies to the Basic Savings Banks deposit account. 2. All Normal Saving Bank accounts will continue to get eight free ATM transactions (5 SBI ATMs + 3 other bank ATMs) in Metros & 10 free transactions in Non-Metro (SBI ATM + 5 Other Bank ATMs) free apart from the bank transaction. 3. Anyone making upto Rs 1 lakh transfer on IMPS will be charged with Rs 5 per transaction plus service tax. 4. Between Rs 1 lakh – Rs 2 lakh and Rs 2 lakh – Rs 5 lakh, service charges are at Rs 15 and Rs 25 each plus service tax. 5. On Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) account, no charged will be levied for four withdrawals, more than that Rs 50 plus service tax will be charged at any SBI branch, while at any other bank Rs 20 plus tax. LIC Housing Finance launches new home loan product i. LIC Housing Finance launched a new product `Griha Siddhi' which will offer loans for construction, purchase of the house or flat and repairs or renovation to the existing properties. ii. Under the new product, borrowers will be offered the interest rate of 8.40% up to Rs 25 lakh and for loans up to Rs 1 crore the interest rate will be 8.50% per annum. For women borrowers, the mortgage lender is offering a special interest rate of 8.35% for loans up to Rs 25 lakh. Justice Mukul Mudgal elected head of FIFA Governance Committee i. Justice (Retd.) Mukul Mudgal was elected as head of International Federation of Association Football (FIFA‘s) governance committee at the world football governing body‘s 67th Congress in Bahrain‘s capital city of Manama. Bengaluru ranked 20th in world's most affordable tech city Index i. Bengaluru has been named the world‘s most affordable tech city in the new Savills Tech Cities Index 2017. The Indian technology hub is the most affordable out of 22 cities that were graded on different parameters. ii. Overall, Bengaluru ranks 20th among tech cities in the world while Austin topped the list, followed by San Francisco and New York. But when it comes to the cost of living index, Bengaluru tops the charts with a weekly residential rent for tech employees and household. Chanda Kochhar receives Woodrow Wilson Award i. ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar has become the first Indian woman to be conferred with the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship. ii. She received the annual award which was instituted in 1998 by the prestigious Wilson Center to felicitate individuals whose actions and accomplishments either in their careers or through service. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows-

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

President of Sri Lanka is Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister is Ranil Wickremesinghe. The capital of Sri Lanka is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. This is the administrative capital where most of the administrative institutions exist including Parliament of Sri Lanka. The 14th United Nations Day of Vesak is celebrated from 12th May to 14th May in Sri Lanka In 2017, United Nations International Day of Vesak will be hosted by Sri Lanka under the theme ―Buddhist Teachings for Social Justice and Sustainable World Peace‖ Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is Shri Radha Mohan Singh. The rupee-denominated offshore bonds are popularly known as Masala Bonds The instrument has been exempted from taxation for transfer among non-residents while a low rate of five percent would be applicable for investors till 2020 Capital of UK is London and its currency is Pound Sterling is the PM of UK. Dakshin Gangotri was the first Indian scientific research base station established in Antarctica during 1984 Maitri is India‘s second permanent research station in Antarctica. It was built in 1989. Chairman of LIC is Vijay Kumar Sharma Life Corporation of India was founded on 1 September 1956 and its headquarter is Mumbai. 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be hosted by India 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia FIFA president is Gianni Infantino. Bengaluru named as the Silicon valley of India Bengaluru also named as the Information Technology (IT) capital of India. CEO of ICICI Bank is Chanda Kochhar ICICI Bank headquarter is in Mumbai. 13th May 2017 Election Commission of India Launches National Contact Centre i. The Election Commission of India has added feather to its cap with the launch of National Contact Centre with a toll-free No. 1800111950. ii. Now any citizen from any part of the country can call 24*7 on the toll-free in English or Hindi with any query or complaint at any time of the day. iii. The National Contact Centre is operated on a National Grievance Redressal System Software. Aadhaar not mandatory for PAN, ITR in J&K, Assam & Meghalaya: Govt i. The government has exempted the residents of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Meghalaya and citizens above 80 years from mandatory quoting of Aadhaar to obtain PAN cards and file tax returns. ii. As per the official notification of the Finance Ministry, the exemption has been given to an individual who does not possess the Aadhaar number or the enrolment ID. The exemption will also apply on non-residents and non-citizens. first state with logo for hearing impaired drivers i. Telangana has introduced a logo for identifying vehicles driven by persons with hearing impairment and has become the first state in the country to do so. ii. The state‘s transport department has finalized the logo designed by Hyderabad-based graphic designer Manikanta Annapragada, who incidentally is the first person to obtain a driving license in the ‗hearing impaired‘ category. 0422 4204182,9884267599 1st Street Gandhipuram Coimbatore Page 29

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Ahmedabad to host biggest ever International Yoga Day event on June 21 i. Ahmedabad in Gujarat will host biggest ever International Yoga Day event on the 21st of June announced by Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev. ii. Chief Minister of Gujarat Mr. Vijay Rupani will inaugurate the event. iii. The program will be conducted in partnership with Gujarat government which will also involve various social organizations. Rajnath Singh launches mobile app for paramilitary forces to lodge grievances i. Union home minister Rajnath Singh launched a mobile phone app 'MHA Mobile Application' to remain ‗just a click away‘ from troopers of all central forces to address their grievances. ii. Rajnath Singh also launched a dedicated app for BSF personnel named 'BSFMyApp'. The app provides the mechanism to address issues related to pay, provident fund, leave or deputation of the personnel. The app will also help troopers with financial literacy. Vinay Mohan Kwatra named India’s new ambassador to France i. Vinay Mohan Kwatra currently a joint secretary in the Prime Minister‘s Office has been appointed as the next ambassador to France. ii. Mr. Vinay Mohan Kwatra has succeeded Mohan Kumar Amitabh Bachchan appointed WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Hepatitis i. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has been appointed by the World Health Organisation as its Goodwill Ambassador for Hepatitis in South-East Asia Region to spread awareness about the disease. ii. This is the first formal association between WHO and Amitabh Bachchan, who served as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Polio in India. Light Combat aircraft Tejas successfully test-fires air-to-air missile i. Light combat aircraft 'Tejas' has successfully demonstrated an Air-to-Air Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile firing capability by releasing Derby Air-to-Air BVR missile in RADAR guided mode. ii.The objective of the test was to assess the Derby integration with aircraft systems on-board Tejas including the aircraft avionics, fire-control radar, launchers and Missile Weapon Delivery System and to verify its performance. The test was conducted on a Manoeuvrable Aerial Target at the Interim Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha. India test-fires ‘Spyder’ surface-to-air missile from Odisha test range i. India test fired a surface-to-air missile ‗Spyder‘ from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha as part of missile launch practice of a series of tests of the short-range quick reaction. ii. Spyder ( Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby) is an acquired missile system from Israel which is a short-range quick reaction surface-to-air missile to neutralize enemy targets up to a distance of 15 km and at heights between 20-and- 9,000 meters. Bahamas elects Hubert Minnis as new prime minister i. The Bahamas has elected Free National Movement's Hubert Minnis as its new Prime Minister, defeating incumbent Progressive Liberal Party's leader Perry Christie in a 34-5 parliamentary split. Forbes Middle East lists top 100 Indian business leaders i. Retail Mogul Yusuff Ali and Pepsico executive Sanjeev Chadha are among the top 100 Indian business leaders in the Arab World 2017, according to a Forbes ranking for the Middle East. ii. Ali, managing director of Lulu Group International topped the Indian business owners‘ category and Chadha CEO

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 of Asia, Middle East and Africa at PepsiCo International led the Indian executive‘s category. VVS Laxman awarded honorary life membership by MCC i. VVS Laxman awarded with an honorary life membership by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). ii. The elegant Hyderabad batsman becomes the fifth Indian to receive the honour after fellow stalwarts, Sachin Tendulkar, , and . Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- Dr. Nasim Zaidi is the 20th Chief Election Commissioner of India Election Commission of India was founded on 1950. Aadhaar number is a 12-digit random number issued by the UIDAI to the residents of India UIDAI full form is Unique Identification Authority of India Shri J. Satyanarayana is part-time Chairman of the UIDAI. CM of Telangana is Chandrasekhar Rao and the governor is E.S.L Narasimhan The capital of Telangana is Hyderabad Telangana is the 29th state of India and was founded in 2014. 1st International Yoga Day (IYD) was Hosted by New Delhi on 21st June 2015 Ministry of AYUSH made the arrangements for 1st IYD Mr. Rajnath Singh is the Union home minister of India K K Sharma is the Director-General of Border Security Force Mr. Vinay Mohan Kwatra has succeeded Mohan Kumar Emmanuel Macron has been recently elected as President of France Paris is the capital of France and currency is Euro Margaret Chan is the Director-General of WHO WHO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland Defence Minister of India is Arun Jaitley The first defence minister of independent India was Baldev Singh during 1947-1952 Tejas is a Light Combat Aircraft that uses fourth generation technologies. Spyder full form is Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby Bipin Rawat is 27th chief of Army Staff. Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club of London and was founded in 1787. was the first Indian woman cricketer to receive MCC life membership.

14th May &15th May 2017 International Day of Families: 15 May i. The International Day of Families is observed on the 15th of May every year. ii. The theme of 2017 is ―Families, education and well-being‖. iii. This year‘s observance focuses on the role of families and family-oriented policies in promoting education and overall well-being of their members. Govt revised base year of WPI, IIP to 2011-2012 from 2004-05

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 i. The government has revised the base year of Wholesale Price Index, WPI and Index of Industrial Production, IIP to 2011-2012 from 2004-05. ii. As per the new series, April WPI inflation stood at 3.85 percent and March IIP at 2.7 percent. The Consumer Price Index-based inflation in April stood at 2.99 percent. Kerala tops, Bihar last in public affairs index i. Two South Indian States - Kerala and Tamil Nadu - secured first and second rankings for the second year in a row while poll-bound Gujarat gained two positions rising from five in 2016 to three in 2017 and Bihar stayed at the bottom in public affairs index (PAI) in governance in States. India-UK agree on MoU in urban transport sector i. India and the UK agreed to sign an MoU in the urban transport sector for cooperation in policy planning, technology transfer and institutional organisation. ii. Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari was on a three-day visit, finalised the bilateral cooperation arrangement between the Transport for London (TfL) and the India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to cover a wide range of transport mobility solutions and associated activities in urban environments. Telangana hosted first Videsh Sampark i. Telangana hosted the first outreach program of the Ministry of External Affairs ‗Videsh Sampark‘ to engage the State governments in creating awareness about various programmes of the Ministry. ii. It was inaugurated by the Minister of State for External Affairs, Gen. V.K. Singh. iii. Also, Telangana has become the first state in the country where the pilot ‗e-Sanad‘ project for online attestation of documents, was rolled out. RBI puts restriction on Uco Bank's business i. Reserve Bank of India has put restriction on Kolkata-based PSU UCO Bank‘s lending and branch expansion plans as the state-run lender made net losses for the two successive fiscal amid severe stress on asset quality. ii. RBI has initiated 'Prompt Corrective Action' (PCA) framework on UCO bank on account of high bad loans and negative return of assets. iii. UCO has become the second lender to face business restrictions after IDBI Bank. IIT Kharagpur collaborates to turn Varanasi into smart city i. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has collaborated with the British Geological Survey to turn Varanasi into a smart city. ii. 3D geological modeling of the geology under Varanasi will be prepared to help improve the building of new transport and service infrastructure. iii. It would be the first major 3D subsurface urban study and planning of its kind in India. ISKCON's Govardhan Eco Village wins Smart Village Award i. Govardhan Eco Village, set up by the ISKCON in adjoining Thane district, has won a Smart Village award for being a sustainable project in rural Maharashtra. ii. The award, "Smart Village," has been instituted by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). India ranks 26 in World Bank’s electricity accessibility list i. India moved up to the 26th spot in the global electricity accessibility rankings of the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index 2016.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 ii. India was at the 99th position in 2014, it jumped 73 ranks in 2016. The compounded annual growth in electricity prices in 2014-16 stood at 3.27% compared to 5.97% in 2004-14. Palestine President arrives on 4-day visit to India i. President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas arrived in India on a four-day State visit. ii. The visit of President Mahmoud Abbas will provide an opportunity for reviewing the entire gamut of bilateral relations, regional and international issues. iii. This is his third State visit to India. Rafael Nadal wins 5th Madrid Open title i. Rafael Nadal beat Dominic Thiem to win his fifth Madrid Open title held in Spain and move into the world's top four. ii. In Madrid he battled past a determined Dominic Thiem of Austria to win the crown in straight sets 7-6, 6-4. iii. For the 14-times Grand Slam Winner, it was also the 72nd tournament win of his career. India win 1 gold, 5 silver & 4 bronze in Asian Wrestling Championship i. India finished their Asian Wrestling Championship campaign on a resounding note with Sumit winning a silver medal in the 125 kg category on the concluding day of the continental event held in New Delhi. ii. defeated Lee Seung-chul of Korea to win the gold medal in the men‘s 65 kg freestyle category at the Asian Wrestling Championship. iii. The Indian wrestlers overall bagged 10 medals comprising a gold, five silver, and four bronze. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- WPI stands for Wholesale Price Index. IIP stands for Index of Industrial Production. The team which prepared the PAI 2017 report was led by Dr. C.K.Mathew. Pinarayi Vijayan is the current Chief Minister of Kerala. Palanisamy Sathasivam is the current Governor of Kerala. International Day of Families is organized by United Nations United Nations Headquarters in New York The current Secretary-General of the UN, and the ninth occupant of the post is Mr. Antonio Guterres of Portugal Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping is Mr. Nitin Gadkari London is the Capital of UK Theresa May is the Prime Minister of UK Pound Sterling is the Currency of UK. CM of Telangana is Chandrasekhar Rao and the governor is E. S. L. Narasimhan Hyderabad is the capital of Telangana. MD and CEO of UCO bank is Shri Ravi Krishan Takkar UCO bank headquarter is in Kolkata Newly appointed Deputy Governor of RBI is BP Kanungo. Tagline of the UCO Bank is 'Honour your Trust' Director of IIT Kharagpur is Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti IIT Kharagpur was founded in 1951. ITPO is the premier trade promotion agency of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of India.

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ISKCON full form is International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player Nadal became the first man to win the Monte-Carlo Masters Tournament by 10 times in 2017. The last edition of the Championship was held in Bangkok in which India bagged 9 Medals , the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympics medal, clinched silver in the Championship. She was defeated by Japan‘s Risako Kawai in the 60kg category final. Capital of Palestine is East Jerusalem Its Prime minister is Rami Hamdallah. Arabic is the official language of Palestine. 16th May 2017 PM Modi launches river conservation project in Madhya Pradesh i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Narmada Seva Mission for the conservation of the crucial river, which is a lifeline of Madhya Pradesh. ii. Narmada river captured the attention of the nation when it became the center of a decades-long struggle to stop the raising of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. iii. Narmada Seva Yatra was launched on December 11, 2016, projecting it as the world‘s ―biggest river conservation campaign with public participation.‖ It was concluded on 15th May 2017. HM Rajnath Singh inaugurates 2nd meeting of NPDRR in New Delhi i. The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the second meeting of National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) in New Delhi. ii. The Second meeting of NPDRR will be held over two days, i.e. 15-16 May 2017 on the theme 'Disaster Risk Reduction for Sustainable Development: Making India resilient by 2030'. ‘Maa’ committee to check mid-day meal quality in UP schools i. A Mother's Day gift has been given to lakhs of children in schools of Uttar Pradesh in the form of 'Maa' by forming the 'Maa Committee'. ii. It will be a committee of six mothers, from all sections of society stated by Uttar Pradesh basic education minister Anupma Jaiswal. India-Chile expanded PTA comes into effect i. The expanded Preferential Trade Agreement, PTA between India and Chile has come into effect. ii. Under this trade agreement, both the countries have offered to lower or eliminate duties on a number of items traded with each other. Chile has offered duty concessions on about 1800 goods. iii. On the other hand, India has offered concessions to Chile on 1,031 products including vegetable oil, processed food, pharma, plastic, and pearls as against 296 earlier. HDFC Life inks distribution tie-up with Catholic Syrian Bank i. HDFC Life has entered into a bancassurance tie-up with Catholic Syrian Bank to distribute its individual life insurance products to the private lender‘s customers. ii. With this partnership, HDFC Life will offer its leading range of individual life insurance, health and pension products to the Catholic Syrian Bank‘s 1.5 million customer base across all its branches over a period of time. India’s GDP projected to grow 7.4% in 2017-18: FICCI survey

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 i. In a survey conducted during March and April 2017, FICCI predicted India‘s gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be around 7.4% for fiscal 2017-18, with a minimum and maximum level of 7% and 7.6% respectively. ii. Agricultural sector is estimated to clock 3.5% growth in 2017-18, the pick-up in overall GDP growth will also be supported by an improvement in industry and services sector growth. The industry and services sector are expected to grow by 6.9% and 8.4% respectively in 2017-18. Pawan Kumar Chamling conferred with first BS Shekhawat award i. Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling was conferred with the first Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Lifetime Achievement Honour in Public Service by President Pranab Mukherjee. ii. The award was conferred during the first Bhairon Singh Shekhawat memorial lecture delivered by the President. IIT-Hyderabad professor bags INSA Young Scientist award i. Assistant Professor in Department of Biomedical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology – Hyderabad (IIT- H) Aravind Kumar Rengan has been awarded the prestigious Indian National Science Academy (INSA) medal in the Young Scientist category for 2017. ii. The INSA Young Scientist Medal award carries a bronze medal and a cash prize of Rs25,000. Nepalese woman breaks world record for most Everest summits i. A 44-year-old Nepalese mountaineer Lhakpa Sherpa has broken her own world record for the most Everest summits by a woman after scaling the world's tallest peak for the eighth time. ii. She bettered her own record of scaling Mt Everest seven times. Emmanuel Macron names Edouard Philippe as French Prime Minister i. France's newly-elected President Emmanuel Macron has named Edouard Philippe as Prime Minister of France. ii. The 46-year-old lawmaker and mayor of Le Havre is from the conservative Les Republicans party. iii. It is the first time in modern French political history that a president has appointed a Prime Minister from outside his camp without being forced to by a defeat in parliamentary elections. Former Puducherry Chief Minister S Ramaswamy passes away i. Former Puducherry Chief Minister S Ramassamy died after a brief illness, family sources said. He was 80 . ii. He became chief minister in 1974 heading the AIADMK-CPI coalition ministry for a brief period. Arjun Maini became first Indian to win a GP3 race i. Arjun Maini, driving for Jenzer Motorsports, created history by becoming the first Indian driver to win a GP3 race. ii. The 19-year old scored his first win in two years while finishing six seconds ahead of Frenchman Dorian Boccolacci and teammate Alessio Lorandi of . Lewis Hamilton Wins Spanish Grand Prix i. Lewis Hamilton has won the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position in the Formula One championship. ii. This is Hamilton‘s 55th career win and second win of the season. iii. Mercedes‘s Hamilton finished 3.4 seconds ahead of Ferrari‘s Sebastian Vettel. The event was currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- Government of India has constituted a multi-stakeholder National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) vide Government's Resolution No.47-31/2012-DM-III dated 26th February 2013 The aim of NPDRR to review the progress made in the field of disaster management from time to time Sardar Sarovar Dam is located in Gujarat and is built on Narmada River

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The Narmada originates from the Maikal hills and charts its way through Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat finally draining into the Arabian Sea. CM of Uttar Pradesh is Yogi Adityanath Two Deputy CM of UP is Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma Governor of UP is Shri Ram Naik. Mothers Day celebrated on 14 May. Chile is the country in South America Capital of Chile is Santiago Michelle Bachelet is the President of Chile. Managing Director of HDFC Bank is Aditya Puri and its Headquarter is in Mumbai Managing Director and CEO of Catholic Syrian Bank is CVR Rajendran and its Headquarter at Thrissur in Kerala. FICCI full form is Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry FICCI President is Pankaj R. Patel. Governor of Sikkim is Shriniwas Patil Capital of Sikkim is Gangtok Khangchendzonga National Park is situated in Sikkim. The INSA Young Scientists Award is considered to be the highest recognition of promise, creativity, and excellence in a young scientist. The award will be presented to Professor Aravind by the INSA President during the Anniversary General Meeting in December 2017. Paris is the capital of France Emmanuel Macron is the newly appointed youngest President of France Arjun Maini is an Indian racing driver who received his first go-kart, an 80cc Comer Kart at the age of 5. Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton is a British Formula One racing driver from England He is currently racing for the Mercedes AMG Petronas team.

17th May 2017 India’s ‘Ujala’ to light up homes in the United Kingdom i. India has taken a new initiative to supply cheap LED bulbs for the citizens of London in the United Kingdom. Taking this process to the final stages India will launch ‗UJALA‘ scheme in the United Kingdom. ii. UJALA is globally one of the largest efficiency programs and being run by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, an energy services company promoted by Indian state-run power majors. Andhra Pradesh ropes in Singapore firms to develop start-up area in Amaravati i. Singapore-based Ascendas-Singbridge Pvt Ltd and Sembcorp Development Ltd were awarded a contract by the Andhra Pradesh government to act as the master developer for a start-up area in the capital city of Amaravati. ii. For the speedy implementation of the project, a high-level joint implementation steering committee (JISC) will also be formed. iii. The JISC will be co-chaired by the AP CM chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Minister of trade and industry of Singapore govt S.Iswaran.

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IIEST creates India's first smart grid project IIEST has successfully created the country's first smart grid project, which will generate power from renewable sources of energy. ii. The project will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee. iii. The smart grid will be synchronized to generate power from solar, wind and vegetable waste resources, depending on the weather conditions and availability of waste products. It is the first of its kind in the country. India ranked second in renewable energy attractiveness index i. India has moved up to the second spot from third position in this year's (2017) 'Renewable energy country attractiveness index' released by EY (Earnest and Young). ii. China, which has been ranked first in the index and India have surpassed the US, which fell for the first time since 2015 to third place in the ranking of top 40 countries. Ovais Sarmad Appointed Deputy Executive Secretary in UNFCCC . Ovais Sarmad, an Indian has been appointed by the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the post of Deputy Executive Secretary, which is a key post in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Admiral Sunil Lanba attends international maritime review in Singapore i. Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba attended Singapore's first International Maritime Review (IMR) held at the country's prime Changi Naval Base. ii. Mr. Lanba attended the review along with navy ships INS Sahyadri and INS Kamorta. iii. The INS Sahyadri was part of the land review INS Kamorta was part of the sea review. Indian Navy signs MoU with Space Application Centre i. The Indian Navy and Ahmedabad- based Space Application Centre (SAC) inked a pact on data sharing and scientific cooperation in the field of meteorology and oceanology. ii. The pact provides for the creation of a common platform for sharing expertise achieved by SAC with the Navy in a number of areas, including satellite data acquisition technology. iii. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Vice Admiral S N Ghormade, Director General Naval Operations, and SAC Director Tapan Misra at an event in Ahmedabad. ISRO, NASA to jointly inspect 'oldest civilization' site in Haryana i. Teams of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would inspect the excavation being carried out at an archaeological site in Haryana's Fatehabad district to verify claims of it being the oldest civilization in the world. ii. Archaeologists have recovered artifacts pre-dating the Harappan Civilisation from the site, located in village Kunal in Fatehabad district. SpaceX launches Inmarsat communications satellite i. The USA based SpaceX has launched a communications satellite for Inmarsat, marking its first launch for the London-based mobile broadband company. ii. The Inmarsat-5 F4 satellite, built by Boeing, blasted off atop Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Deepti Sharma, Poonam Raut create cricket history with record 320-run stand i. India women‘s cricket team openers Deepti Sharma and Poonam Raut became the first-ever pair to share a 300-run stand in a One-Day International.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 ii. This feat was accomplished in a match against Ireland at Potchefstroom during the quadrangular series in South Africa. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- Union Energy and Power Minister of India is Piyush Goyal UJALA full form is Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All PM of United Kingdom is Theresa May Capital of UK is London and its Currency is Pound Sterling. CM of Andhra Pradesh is N. Chandrababu Naidu and the governor is E.S.L Narasimhan Capital of Andhra Pradesh is Amaravati PM of Singapore is Lee Hsien Loong and Currency of Singapore is Singapore Dollar. IIEST full form is The Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology Dr. Kopillil Radhakrishnan is the Chairman of IIEST. Earnest and Young Headquarter is in London Earnest and Young is one of the largest professional services firm in the world and is one of the "Big Four" accounting firms. General Bipin Rawat is the current and 27th Chief of Army Staff of the Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa is the current and 25th Chief of the Indian Air Staff. ISRO Chairman is Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar and its headquarter is in Bengaluru NASA headquarter is in Washington. D.C. USA. SpaceX full form is Space Exploration Technologies Corporation.

18th May 2017 Cabinet Minister inaugurates 15th National Meeting for Persons with Disabilities i. Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment inaugurated the ―15th National Meeting of the State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities (PwD)‖ to review Implementation of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of rights and Full Participation) Act-1995. ii. The two-day meeting has been organized by the Office of the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities under Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. CCEA approves new coal linkage policy 2017 i. Cabinet approve signing of Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) with Letter of Assurance (LoA) holders of Thermal Power Plants(TPPs), and Introduces a new more transparent coal allocation policy for Power Sector, 2017-SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala (Coal) Transparently in India). ii. The approved framework ensures that all projects with linkages are supplied coal as per their entitlement. This will ensure the rights of coal supplies for FSA holders and signing of FSA with LoA holders. Cabinet approves agreement between India and Tajikistan i. Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing and ratifying, an agreement between India and Tajikistan on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters. ii. The agreement will help in the availability of relevant information for the prevention and investigation of Customs offenses.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 iii. The Cabinet also gave its approval for the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting. Cabinet approves construction of 10 units of India’s indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors . In a significant decision to fast-track India‘s domestic nuclear power program, and give a push to country‘s nuclear industry, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for construction of 10 units of India‘s indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). ii. The total installed capacity of the Plants will be 7000 MW. The 10 PHWR project will result in a significant augmentation of nuclear power generation capacity. It would be one of the flagship ―‖ projects in this sector. J&K to host 14th GST Council meet in Srinagar i. The Jammu and Kashmir government is hosting the 14th Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council meeting in the summer capital Srinagar beginning today (18th May 2017). ii. The State administration is gearing up for the meeting of the GST Council headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. iii. The GST is a value added tax and is proposed to be a comprehensive indirect tax levied on the manufacture, sale, and consumption of goods as well as services by the Central and State governments. J&K is among 8 States which are yet to ratify the GST. Naidu announces 24x7 DD channel for Jharkhand i. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu announced a round-the-clock Doordarshan channel for Jharkhand. ii. Jharkhand has been given the most film-friendly award by the National Film Awards. iii.The Union Minister stated in order to set up a film city in the state, assistance will be taken from the National Film Development Corporation and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata. Paytm get final nod to launch Payment Bank i. Digital payment and commerce company Paytm has received the final nod from the Reserve Bank of India and is set to launch Paytm Payments Bank on May 23, 2017. ii. Paytm is the third company from the 11 other applicants to launch payments bank after Airtel and IndiaPost. Mumbai-based Finopay Tech is also likely to launch its operations by next month (June). Shri Bandaru Dattatreya launches EPFOs Citizens Charter 2017 & e-court management system i. The Minister of State for Labour & Employment(IC), Shri Bandaru Dattatreya launched EPFOs Citizens Charter 2017 and e-court management system in Bangalore. ii. The citizens charter has been launched with the vision of social security coverage to all employees as well as implementation of policies for benefit of all stakeholders with adequate support level of social security. iii. EPFO e-court Management System has been launched with the vision of transparent and electronic case management system which will cater to aspirations of all stakeholders the employers, the employees, litigants and CBT. iv. Also, Retirement fund manager EPFO has reduced the stipulated period for settlement of various claims such PF withdrawal, pension and insurance to 10 days from 20 at present.

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M S Boje Gowda takes over as Coffee Board Chairman S Boje Gowda, a third generation planter from the country's key coffee growing region of Chikmagalur, took over as the Coffee Board Chairman after a gap of almost 70 years. ii. Gowda became the first grower to assume Country's first ornamental fish park to come up at Chennai i. India's first Aquatic Rainbow Technology Park, an ultra modern exclusive facility for ornamental fish equipped with multi-species hatchery and live feed culture units, will become operational at Chennai in coming three months. ii. The facility was being developed by Fisheries College and Research Institute (FCRI), Ponneri in Tamil Nadu the second largest exporter of ornamental fish after . Indian teen has developed world's smallest satellite for NASA i. The US‘ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch the world‘s smallest satellite named 'KalamSat', it will be the first time ever that it would be piloting an experiment by an Indian student. ii. Developed by Rifath Sharook, an 18-year-old boy, from Tamil Nadu‘s Pallapatti town, KalamSat weighs only 64 grams. ‗KalamSat‘, named after India's nuclear scientist and former President, APJ Abdul Kalam, will be launched from a Nasa facility in Wallops Island. Mukesh Ambani tops Forbes list of 'Global Game Changers' for bringing internet to masses i. Forbes magazine has named Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani as the topmost among its "Global Game Changers" who are transforming their industries and changing the lives of billions around the world. ii. The American magazine referred to the Ambani-led Reliance Jio mobile network's efforts to spread internet penetration in India. Union environment minister Anil Madhav Dave dies i. Union environment minister Anil Madhav Dave has passed away. He was 60. He was born in Barnagar in Madhya Pradesh. ii. He was a Rajya Sabha MP representing Madhya Pradesh, Anil Dave took charge as Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge) on July 06, 2016 following a reshuffle in the Narendra Modi Cabinet. Actress Reema Lagoo passes away i. Veteran actress Reema Lagoo, known for her performance in movies like ―Hum Aapke Hain Koun‖ and ―Kal Ho Na Ho‖, died due to a cardiac arrest in Mumbai. She was 59. ii. Her acting career spanned over four decades and she was last seen on the television show ―Naamkaran‖, aired on Star Plus. Mohammad Anas Breaks 400m National Record; Qualifies For World C’ships i. Kerala quartermiler Mohammad Anas smashed the national record in men's 400m race on route to winning a gold medal at the third leg of the Indian Grand Prix Athletics Meet in New Delhi. ii. He also qualified for the World Championships to be held in London in August. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- After the passing of Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Bill, the categories of Divyangjans have increased from 7 to 21. Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot is the Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Tajikistan capital is Dushanbe and currency is Tajikistani somoni

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PM of Tajikistan is Kokhir Rasulzoda. Piyush Goyal is the Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines in the Government of India. Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) was the first nuclear power plant in India. Summer capital of J&K is Srinagar and winter capital is Jammu Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed is the Chief Minister of J&K Mr. Haseeb A. Drabu is the Minister of Finance of J&K CEO and Founder of Paytm is Vijay Shekhar Sharma Paytm Headquarter is in Noida The first company to received nod from RBI to launch Payment Bank is Airtel. EPFO full form is Employees' Provident Fund Organization Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) chairman is A Jayathilak The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is a Government of India company headquartered at Kochi, Kerala President of USA Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958 Acting Administrator of NASA is Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. Forbes is an American business magazine was founded in 1917 Forbes headquarter is in New York City, USA. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is an Indian government ministry which was founded in 1985. Veteran actress Reema Lagoo passed away at the age of 59.

19th May 2017 Recent Important Cabinet Approvals- May 2017 i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval in the various fields and has also approved some important MoUs. ii. The important approvals of the Cabinet are as follows- The Cabinet has approved- Signing of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting by India. Construction of 10 units of India‘s indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). MoU between India and Australia on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime. Faculty Exchange Agreement between National Defence College, New Delhi and National Defence College, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program- Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who are eligible will receive a cash benefit of Rs.5,000/- in three installments. Agreement between India and Tajikistan on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters. Everything you need to know about GST rates declared so far

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 i. On day one The Goods and Services Tax (GST) meeting in Srinagar has caught the attention of the market given its implications on earnings of companies. ii. The nine rules finalized by the council pertain to composition, valuation, transition, input tax credit, invoice, payment, refund, registration and return. iii. The government categorized 1211 items under various tax slabs. Here is a lowdown on the tax slab these items would attract-: No tax No tax will be imposed on items like fresh meat, fish chicken, eggs, milk, buttermilk, curd, natural honey, fresh fruits and vegetables, flour, besan, bread, salt, stamps, judicial papers, printed books, newspapers, bangles, handloom etc. 5% Items such as fish fillet, cream, skimmed milk powder, branded paneer, frozen vegetables, coffee, tea, spices, pizza bread, rusk, sabudana, kerosene, coal, medicines, stent, lifeboats will attract tax of 5 %. 12% Frozen meat products , butter, cheese, ghee, dry fruits in packaged form, animal fat, sausage, fruit juices, namkeen, Ayurvedic medicines, tooth powder, colouring books, picture books, umbrella, sewing machine, and cellphones will be under 12 % tax slab. 18% Most items are under this tax slab which includes flavored refined sugar, pasta, cornflakes, pastries and cakes, preserved vegetables, jams, sauces, soups, ice cream, instant food mixes, mineral water, notebooks, steel products, printed circuits, camera, speakers and monitors. 28% Chewing gum, molasses, chocolate not containing cocoa, waffles and wafers coated with choclate, pan masala, aerated water, paint, deodorants, shaving creams, hair shampoo, dye, sunscreen, wallpaper, ceramic tiles, water heater, dishwasher, weighing machine, washing machine, ATM, vending machines, automobiles, motorcycles, aircraft for personal use, and yachts will attract 28 % tax the highest under GST system. PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate India’s longest river bridge in Assam on May 26 i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India‘s longest river bridge 'Dhola-Sadiya bridge' in Assam on May 26. ii. It will bolster the road connectivity in the Northeast as the bridge will be used by people of Assam and besides defence forces extensively. All you need to know about India‘s longest river bridge: The length of the Dhola-Sadiya bridge is 9.15 km and is built cross river Lohit at the easternmost tip of Assam. Dhola-Sadiya bridge will be the longest bridge in India overtaking the Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai. Lohit is one of three rivers – the others are Dibang and Siang – that meet to form the Brahmaputra downstream of the site of the bridge. The bridge, designed to facilitate the movement of battle tanks will help the movement of troops to the border with China in the Wallong-Kibithu sector in southern Arunachal Pradesh. The project was started in 2011. It will reduce the travel time for people on either bank of river Lohit by at least eight hours.

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Start up India Summit to be held in Dubai i. CGI (Consulate General of India) Dubai and Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi in partnership with iSPIRIT, a nonprofit think tank will host a two-day ―Start-up India Summit‖ in UAE on 23rd and 24th of May 2017. ii. This is the first such ―Start-Up Summit‖ being held in the UAE. The aim is to provide a shared platform for the Start-up ecosystem in both India and UAE for greater collaboration, exchange ideas, interact with academia, investors and industry. NITI Aayog holds the first Samavesh meeting i. With an aim to bring together 32 premier educational and policy research institutions to catalyse the country‘s development process, government think-tank NITI Aayog hold the first Samavesh meeting. ii. In pursuance of the PM call for a New India 2022, the meeting comes under the co-chairmanship of Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO and Shri Ratan P Watal, Principal Adviser of NITI Aayog. Harsh Vardhan gets additional charge of Environment Ministry i. Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan was given additional charge of the Environment Ministry following the death of Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave. ii. It was in accordance with the President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee. PM to inaugurate Annual Meetings of i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) on May 23, 2017. ii. This is the first time in the history of AfDB Group that India would be hosting the Annual Meetings of the bank. iii. The meetings are to be held from May 22 to 26 at Gandhinagar in Gujarat. The core theme of the event is "Transforming Agriculture for Wealth Creation in Africa". Indian Army gets its first modern artillery gun almost 30 years after Bofors i. The Indian Army received two 155mm/39 caliber Ultra Lightweight Howitzer artillery guns from BAE Systems in the United States of America. ii. The Army had test-fire the guns at Pokhran, Rajasthan, recently. This comes after almost 30 years the Bofors howitzers were introduced in the late 1980s. Japan's SoftBank Invests Rs 9,000 Crore in Paytm i. Softbank has made its biggest investment in an Indian digital enterprise by sealing a funding round of Rs 9,000 crore ($1.4 billion) in mobile payments provider Paytm. ii. This is the largest fund infusion by a single investor in an Indian start-up and also Softbank's largest investment in a single company in India. Paytm Payments Bank names Renu Satti as the new CEO i. Paytm has announced its long-time executive and vice president Renu Satti will be the CEO of its Paytm payments bank. ii. India's leading digital wallet player Paytm has recently received the final licence from the Reserve Bank of India for its payments bank entity. Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows- Indian Ambassador to UAE is Mr. Navdeep Suri Mr. Vipul recently took charge as new Consul General of Dubai Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

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Chairman of NITI Aayog is PM of India Planning Commission of India replaced by NITI Aayog. Dr. Harsh Vardhan is the incumbent minister at Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences. Anil Madhav Dave was the former Union Environment Minister Akinwumi Adesina is the current President of the AfDB. BAE Systems is an Aerospace company is responsible for the design, development, and production of combat vehicles, ammunition, artillery systems, naval guns and missile launchers. BAE Systems is headquartered in USA General Bipin Rawat is the 27th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. Paytm is a consumer brand of One97 Communications and its head office is in Noida CEO of Paytm is Vijay Shekhar Sharma CEO and Chairman of Softbank is Masayoshi Son and its headquarter is in Tokyo, Japan. Paytm is a consumer brand of One97 Communications and its head office is in Noida

20th May 2017 India betters ranking in international tourist arrivals i. India has jumped 16 places in the revised United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) rankings to settle at 24th for 2014 and 2015. Earlier, India was ranked 41st and 40th in 2014 and 2015 as per the global ranking, respectively. ii. UNWTO is the United Nation‘s agency managing promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism and its barometer ranks countries in terms of their ITAs- comprising both foreign tourist arrivals as well as non-resident arrivals. Static Takeaways- Headquarter of UN World Tourism Organization is in Madrid, Spain Mr. Taleb Rifai is Secretary-General of the UNWTO Hyderabad’s Turbo Megha Airways first private airline to get UDAN licence i. Turbo Megha Airways has become the first private airline to get a licence to fly under UDAN, the government scheme for subsidized regional flights. ii. The Hyderabad-based airline which flies as TruJet stated that it will launch flights on Hyderabad-Cuddapah, Hyderabad-Nanded and Nanded-Mumbai routes. iii. The five airlines awarded the rights to fly UDAN flights so far are Air India, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha, Air Odisha and G.R. Gopinath led Deccan Air. Static Takeaways- Full form of UDAN is 'Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik' UDAN scheme was declared by civil aviation ministry of India in October 2016. The scheme was launched in January 2017 Under this yojana traveler can buy tickets at Rs. 2500.Only 50% of the seats in a flight belonging to this Scheme. Visakhapatnam railway station cleanest, Darbhanga dirtiest says survey

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 i. The Visakhapatnam railway station is the cleanest, followed by Secunderabad, among the 75 busiest stations in the country. According to a survey, the report of which was released by railway minister Suresh Prabhu, the Jammu railway station occupied the third spot, while the New Delhi station was ranked at 39 among the busiest stations. ii. The survey was carried out by the Quality Council of India. The Darbhanga railway station in Bihar was the dirtiest among the busiest stations. iii. The railway station in Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was ranked at 14th position. Static Takeaways- Railway Minister of India is Suresh Prabhu First Railway Minister of India is John Mathai. BSNL signs pacts with Facebook, MobiKwik i. State-owned telecom operator BSNL has inked a clutch of agreements with Facebook and MobiKwik as its looks to popularize the internet and its value added services among customers. ii. The pacts were signed to commemorate the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (17 May). iii. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Facebook, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will provide connectivity for the social network‘s 'Express Wi-Fi Program‘. iv. The third MoU of BSNL with Disney India will provide premium online gaming services to mobile customers of the telecom operator. Static Takeaways- Director of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is Shri Anupam Shrivastava Founder of Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg Founder of Mobikwik is Bipin Preet Singh. ISRO receives 2014 Indira Gandhi Peace Prize i. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented now the 2014 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). ii. The award was announced by a jury headed by Vice President Hamid Ansari in 2014, consists of a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 1 crore. iii. The Prize was awarded to ISRO in recognition of its path-breaking achievements culminating in the Mars orbiter mission and its significant contributions in strengthening international cooperation in peaceful use of outer space. Static Takeaways- ISRO Chairman is A. S. Kiran Kumar and its headquarter is in Bengaluru Bilateral Exercise Between Indian & Republic Of Singapore Navy SIMBEX-17 Commences i. As part of 'SIMBEX-17', the ongoing Bilateral Naval Exercise between Navies of the Republic of Singapore and India, Indian Naval Ships Shivalik, Sahyadri, Jyoti and Kamorta are participating. ii. SIMBEX is an acronym for "Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercises". Bilateral cooperation between Singapore and India was first formalized when RSN ships began training with the Indian Navy in 1994. iii. This years edition of SIMBEX-17 being held in the South China Sea would be the 24th in the series. Static Takeaways- Sunil Lanba is the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) of Indian Navy Japan cabinet approves bill allowing emperor‘s abdication

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 i. Japan's cabinet approved a bill that would allow Emperor Akihito to step down, paving the way for the first abdication by a Japanese emperor in nearly two centuries. ii. Abdication must take place within three years of the bill becoming law. iii. In August 2016, he publicly cited age and declining health, which was interpreted as his wish to hand the crown to his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito. Static Takeaways- Shinzo Abe is the current Prime Minister of Japan Currency of Japan is Yen and its capital is Tokyo Central bank of Japan is named Bank of Japan 2020 summer Olympic games are going to be held in Tokyo and its Ambassador is GOKU (Character of a cartoon show). Purnima Barman & Sanjay Gubbi Win The Prestigious ‘Green Oscars’ Award i. Sanjay Gubbi of Karnataka and Purnima Barman of Assam have won the prestigious Whitley Award, popularly known as Green Oscars, for their efforts in wildlife conservation. ii. The awards are instituted by the U.K.-registered charity Whitley Fund for Nature Conservation. While Mr. Gubbi has been awarded for his work to protect tiger corridors in Karnataka. iii. Ms. Barman has won the award for her work in conservation of Assam‘s Greater Adjutant Stork and its habitat. Static Takeaways- The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is the UK registered charity offering Whitley Awards and ongoing support to outstanding nature conservationists around the developing world 21st and 22nd May 2017 1. May 21st is observed as Anti-Terrorism Day in the memory of former Indian PM Mr. Rajiv Gandhi i. All over India, May 21st is observed as Anti-Terrorism Day in the memory of former Indian PM Mr. Rajiv Gandhi who passed away on this day. ii. On this day in the year 1991, former India‘s PM Rajiv Gandhi was killed brutally by terrorist attacks. Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, while conducting an election campaign in Sriperumbudur (located near Chennai) in Tamil Nadu was assassinated by a suicide bomber on 21 May 1991. Static Takeaways- Rajiv Ratna Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was Prime Minister of India, serving from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, his mother, to become the youngest Indian premier. 2. Arunachal‘s is the first woman to scale Mt Everest twice in 5 days i. Arunachal Pradesh mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa has become the world‘s first woman to scale Mt Everest twice in five days. ii. Her ascent of the world‘s tallest peak in the Himalayas at 7.45 am on 21st May 2017 was her fifth overall and the second after 16th May 2017. Static Takeaways- Mount Everest height is about 8,848 meters above sea level First Persons to climb Mt Everest in 1953 are Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. 3. NASA names bacteria after Abdul Kalam 0422 4204182,9884267599 1st Street Gandhipuram Coimbatore Page 46

Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 i. Scientists at NASA have named a new organism discovered by them after the much-loved A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. ii.The name of the bacterium is Solibacillus kalamii, the species name is after Dr. Abdul Kalam and genus name is Solibacillus which is a spore-forming bacteria. Static Takeaways- Dr. Kalam was the 11th President of India became on 25th July 2002 APJ Kalam also known as Missile Man of India and his full name is Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) was developed by Dr. APJ Kalam for ISRO NASA headquarter is in Washington, D.C. USA. 4. Tejas Express to make its debut on Mumbai- route i. India‘s state-of-the-art high-speed train Tejas Express, which can run up to the speed of 200km per hour, has made its trip between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai, and Karmali, North Goa. ii. The train will cover a distance of 579km in 8.5 hours with halts at Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Ratnagiri and Kudal. iii. The 15-coach train has two classes chair car and executive chair car and is equipped with facilities like secured gangways, automatic doors, LCD screens, Wi-Fi, tea-coffee vending machines, magazines, bio-toilets, hand dryers etc. Static Takeaways- Railway Minister of India is Suresh Prabhu First Railway Minister of Independent India is John Mathai. 5. Tata Sons appoints Saurabh Agrawal as Group CFO i. Tata Sons has appointed Saurabh Agrawal, an investment banker who was formerly with the Aditya Birla Group, as its Group Chief Financial Officer. He will join the company from July 2017. ii. Agrawal, among India‘s most successful investment bankers, brings with him over two decades of experience in the capital markets. Static Takeaways- Chairman of Tata Sons is N. Chandrasekaran Founder of Tata is Jamsetji Tata and it was founded in 1868. 6. Cochin Port Trust bags two awards i. Cochin Port Trust has received two Best Performance Awards from Ministry of Shipping for the highest growth in operating surplus and also for achieving third highest growth in cargo traffic among the major ports in the year 2016-17. ii. The awards were received from Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari by P Raveendran, Chairman, and A V Ramana, Deputy Chairman, Cochin Port Trust at a function held at Goa Port Trust. Static Takeaways- CM of Kerala is Pinarayi Vijayan and governor is P.Sathasivam Periyar Tiger Reserve is situated in Kerala. 7. India's Prashant Ranganathan wins top intel International science award in US i. An Indian boy has won the world‘s largest pre-college science competition, The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) in the US in the environmental engineering category for his project on biodegradation of pesticides. ii. The name of his project was ‗Biodegradation of Chlorpyrifos using native bacteria‘ which was based on the theme

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 that farmers should not use pesticides. Static Takeaways from above News- The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) is a program of Society for Science & the Public (the Society) This is the world‘s largest international pre-college science competition. 8. Deveshwar, Soumitra Chatterjee conferred Bengal's highest civilian award i. Thespian Soumitra Chatterjee and Y.C. Deveshwar were conferred the Banga Samman, West Bengal's highest civilian award, by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. ii. The Banga Samman awards were instituted in 2011 after Banerjee came to power. Celebrated artists, singers, sportspersons, filmmakers, intellectuals have been honored with these awards in the past. Static Takeaways- CM of West Bengal is Mamta Banerjee and governor is Keshari Nath Tripathi The Buxa Tiger Reserve is situated in West Bengal. 9. Karnataka Bank inks pact with LIC i. Karnataka Bank Ltd has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India for selling life insurance products of LIC. ii. The bank signed the corporate agency agreement with LIC in Mangaluru, Karnataka. The bank will be able to provide the vast choice of life insurance products to its customers across all its 769 branches with this MoU. Static Takeaways from above News- Mr.Mahabaleshwara M.S is the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Karnataka Bank V. K. Sharma is the current chairman of LIC LIC is Headquartered in Mumbai. 10. Hassan Rouhani wins Presidential Re-election in Iran i. Hassan Rouhani was re-elected as the President of Iran after winning Iranian presidential elections 2017. ii. This is his second term as Iran's President. He was first elected as Iran's President in 2013. iii. In the Iranian Presidential Elections, Hassan Rouhani defeated his Conservative opponent Ebrahim Raisi by winning 57% of the total seats. The elections were labeled as the ―most competitive ever‖. Static Takeaways from above News- Tehran is the Capital of Iran and its Currency is Iranian rial. 11. Alexander Zverev win Italian Open title by defeating Novak Djokovic i. Alexander Zverev defeated the world no. 2 ranking player Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 to win the Italian Open, 2017. The final was held in Rome, Italy. ii. The 20-year-old Zverev became the youngest player to win a Masters 1000 event since Djokovic won in Miami a decade ago at 19. iii. The Italian Open women's Singles Title 2017 was won by Ukraine's Elina Svitolina. Static Takeaways from above News- Alexander Zverev is the professional German tennis player Italian open is also known as Rome Masters and Italian Championship Rome is the Capital city of Italy The currency of Italy is Euro.

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12. Bengaluru FC wins i. The Bengaluru FC defeated Mohun Bagan (2-0) to lift 38th Federation Cup football tournament at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha. ii. In the tightly contested tussle befitting a final, BFC overcame a bit of hard luck to ride on C.K. Vineeth‘s extra-time brace and bag the prestigious title despite the unavailability of two of key players, Sunil Chhetri and Cameron Watson. Static Takeaways from above News- Bengaluru FC is currently owned by Mumbai-based Company, JSW Group The Club was formed in July 2013 Federation Cup was started in the year 1977 13. Mumbai Indians win IPL title for the third time i. In Cricket, Mumbai Indians lifted the 10th Indian Premier League trophy for the third time, as they recorded a scintillating 1-run win against Rising Pune Supergiant in the title clash at Hyderabad during final. ii. Mumbai successfully defended a total of 129 and restricted Pune to 128/6 to lift their third IPL trophy. Krunal Pandya from Mumbai Indians was named the man of the match. Static Takeaways- Orange Cap in IPL 2017 refers to the most runs taken by a batsman which is David Warner from Sunrise Hyderabad team has taken 641 runs in 2017 tournament. Purple Cap in IPL 2017 refers to the most wickets taken by a bowler which is Bhuvneshwar Kumar from Sunrise Hyderabad team has taken 26 overall wickets in 2017 tournament. Hyderabad team was the winner of 9th IPL tournament in 2016

23rd May 2017 PM launches various projects of Kandla Port Trust, Gujarat i. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has launched various projects of Kandla Port Trust at Gandhidham in Gujarat. ii. He unveiled plaques to mark the laying of Foundation Stone for the construction of the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Convention Centre and the development of the 14th and 16th General Cargo Berth. iii. He handed over Letters of Award for Construction of Interchange-cum-ROB (Railway Bridge) at Kutch Salt Junction, Deployment of two Mobile Harbour Cranes and Mechanization for the handling of fertilizers at Kandla Port. Static Takeaways- Kandla was constructed in the 1950s as the chief seaport serving western India. CM of Gujarat is Mr. Vijay Rupani and its governor is Mr. Om Prakash Kohli. Shri.Ravi M Parmar is the Chairman of Kandla Port Trust. India becomes second largest steel producer in the world i. India overtook Japan to become the second-largest steel producer in the world after China in 2016, according to data released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF). ii. India‘s stainless steel production rose to 3.32 million tons for 2016 showing an impressive growth of about 9% over 3.0 million tons achieved in 2015.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 iii. The data were released at ISSF annual conference in Tokyo, Japan. Static Takeaways- The International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) is a non-profit research and development organization which was founded in 1996 Roeland Baan is the Chairman of ISSF The Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) is the unifying point for the growth and development of stainless steel usage in India and it was Founded in 1989. Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh is Union Minister of Steel since July 2016. Free Wi-Fi Facility to be provided at 28 Railway Stations i. Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has inaugurated the WiFi facility from Kudal Railway Station at 28 Railway Stations of Konkan Railway. ii. Indian Railways has tied up with M/s SYSCON/JOISTER for provision of 2 Mbps peer to peer 24 hrs FREE Wi-Fi INTERNET bandwidth at 28 stations of Konkan Railway. iii. This facility will help travelling public, commutes & tourists on Indian Railways to access essential information and they could use their time productively while waiting for trains at railway stations. This initiative of corporation is a steps towards making a smarter India. Static Takeaways  First Railway Minister of Independent India is John Mathai HDFC Life launches AI-based insurance email bot 'SPOK' i. HDFC Life announced the launch of an artificial intelligence-based application 'SPOK' that can automatically read, understand, categorize, prioritize and respond to customer emails sent to the private insurer. ii. 'SPOK', an insurance email bot, can read customer queries within milliseconds and respond to them. iii. The deployment of SPOK will improve customer experience, while providing the support staff with the bandwidth to focus on customer satisfaction Static Takeaways- HDFC Bank MD is Aditya Puri Headquarter of HDFC Bank is Mumbai. Federal Bank launches new trading platform i. Federal Bank, in association with Geojit, has launched a new trading platform called ―Selfie‖ for customers. ii. Designed and managed by Geojit, the trading platform will give its users absolute control over their investments with timely research inputs to make sound investment decisions. Static Takeaways- Federal Bank Headquarter is in Kochi, Kerala and its CEO is Shyam Srinivasan. Israel aerospace industries signs $630 million deal with India i. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has closed another major deal worth 630 million US dollar with India to supply advanced long-range air and missile defense systems for four ships of the Indian Navy. ii. According to State-owned IAI, the contract is for supplying Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) systems. iii. The LRSAM is a joint development by IAI and India‘s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The system provides the ultimate protection against a variety of aerial, naval and airborne threats. The deal, a major boost to the ‗Make in India‘ campaign.

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Static Takeaways- Mr. Joseph Weiss is the President & CEO of IAI Israel Aerospace Industries was established in 1953 as Bedek Aviation Company. Israel is the Country in the Middle East and its Capital is Jerusalem. First draft of nuclear ban treaty released by UN i. A United Nations-backed panel has publicly released a draft treaty banning the possession and use of all nuclear weapons. ii. The draft treaty is the culmination of a sustained campaign, supported by more than 130 non-nuclear states, to prohibit nuclear weapons and persuade nuclear-armed states to disarm. iii. Nine countries that are known to possess nuclear weapons are- the US, UK, Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel has not supported the draft plan. Static Takeaways- The United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. World Biodiversity Day. i. Every year, May 22 is observed as International Day for Biodiversity or World Biodiversity Day. This date commemorates the date of Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity at UNEP Headquarters, Nairobi on 22 May 1992. ii. The theme for 2017 for World Biodiversity Day is ―Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism‖ Static Takeaways- UNEP full form is United Nations Environment Programm UNEP headquarter is in Nairobi, Kenya. India's Rohan Chakravarty won WWF International President’s Award 2017 i. Rohan Chakravarty, a wildlife and environment cartoonist from India, has won WWF International President‘s Award 2017 for his efforts to change attitudes towards nature. ii.The award is the top accolade given by WWF (World Wildlife Fund) to recognize leadership in young conservationists who are under the age of 30 from around the world. The award ceremony was held recently in Manado, Indonesia. Static Takeaways- Carter Roberts is the President & CEO of WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Green Humour is the first Indian comic strip to be distributed internationally Indian-born woman elected to City of London Corporation i. A 43-year-old UK entrepreneur has become the first India-born woman to be elected as a councillor to a ward in the UK. ii. Rehana Ameer, who was born and raised in Chennai, contested from Vintry ward in the City of London county as an independent candidate. Static Takeaways- UK capital is London and its currency is British Pound PM of UK is Theresa May. Mathunny Mathews, the Real-life Hero of 'Airlift' passes away

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 i. Indian businessman Mathunny Mathews died aged 81 in Kuwait after being part of the tiny emirate's fortunes and trials for over six decades. ii. He was known as one of the heroes who made possible the largest civilian evacuation in known history and the main inspiration behind the 2016 Bollywood historical drama Airlift. Static Takeaways-  Airlift movie was directed by Raja Krishna Menon. India's Vaishali wins gold in Asian Blitz Chess Championship i. India's R Vaishali won the women's title with eight points from nine rounds in the Asian Continental Blitz Chess Championship in Chengdu, China. ii. Vaishali drew her final round game against Uurtsaikh Uuriintuya of Mongolia to finish half-a-point ahead of Iran's Sarasdat Khademalsharieh and clinch the gold medal. iii. The Chennai player with an ELO rating of 2203 had finished third in the Asian Championship event. Static Takeaways-  Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports is Vijay Goel.

24th May 2017 Piyush Goyal launches mobile app 'SEVA' for quick tracking of coal dispatch i. Union Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal launched the Saral Eindhan Vitaran Application (SEVA), in News Delhi. ii. The app is developed in-house by Limited (CIL) for power sector consumers. iii. SEVA is a part of ‗Digital India‘ initiative, which is aimed at increasing the Consumer Connect as well as the Transparency and Accountability in Coal dispatch. Static Takeaways- Shri Piyush Goyal is the Union Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines Jharkhand is the largest producer of The nationalization of coal mine was done in two phases, the first with the coking coal mines in 1971-72 and then with the non-coking coal mines in 1973. Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' resigned as Nepal Prime Minister i. Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has resigned paving way for Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to become the next Prime Minister. ii. The resignation is to honor an accord signed in August 2016 when Prachanda was elected the prime minister with Deuba's support. Static Takeaways- Pushpa Kamal Dahal was 39th prime minister of Nepal Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal Bidhya Devi Bhandari is the President of Nepal ‘Good morning’ squads to tackle open defecation in Maharashtra i. The Maharashtra government has decided to form ‗good morning‘ squads to monitor and prevent open defecation in villages and districts across the state.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 ii. These squads will comprise representatives of local bodies, self-help groups, NGOs, students and social workers working in the area of sanitation and cleanliness. Static Takeaways- CM of Maharashtra is Devendra Fadnavis and governor is C.Vidyasagar Rao Melghat Tiger Reserve and Bor Tiger Reserve is situated in Maharashtra Tadoba National Park is situated in Maharashtra. Bank of Baroda, IFFCO roll out co-branded debit card for farmers i. Bank of Baroda (BOB) and IFFCO rolled out their first set of co-branded debit cards for farmers as part of a novel initiative to push digitalisation and cashless economy. ii. The co-branded debit cards, with inbuilt overdraft of Rs. 2,500 in special savings bank account, could be used for purchase of various agri products at IFFCO sale counters. iii. Two lakh co-branded debit cards will be issued initially to the farmers beginning with the States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. These co-branded debit cards will be exclusively used for the purchase of IFFCO products only. Static Takeaways- Chairman of BOB is Mr. Ravi Venkatesan and CEO is Mr. P.S. Jayakumar BOB headquarter is in Vadodara, Gujarat and its tagline is 'India's International Bank' IFFCO full form is Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited. Karnataka Bank pact with HDFC Asset Management i. Karnataka Bank Ltd has entered into a distribution agreement to sell the mutual fund products of HDFC Capital Asset Management Ltd (HDFCAML) during exchanged the memorandum of understanding in Mangaluru, Karnataka. ii. Investment in mutual funds will provide an opportunity to those customers who are uncomfortable about investing directly in stock markets as this tie-up will give HDFCAML an opportunity to expand its base in these centers. Static Takeaways- CEO of Karnataka Bank is Mahabaleshwara MS and its headquarter is in Mangaluru, Karnataka MD of HDFC Bank is Aditya Puri. Tata appoints new legal chief i. A day after appointing a new Chief Financial Officer Saurabh Agrawal, Tata Sons has appointed a new legal head. ii. The group has appointed Shuva Mandal as the Group General Counsel after incumbent Bharat Vasani quit the role. iii. Mandal will assume in July 2017. Vasani will continue with the group as Legal Adviser to the Chairman‘s office. Static Takeaways- Chairman of Tata Sons is Natarajan Chandrasekaran Founder of Tata was Jamsetji Tata. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the new WHO Chief i. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a former Ethiopian health minister, has been chosen to head the World Health Organisation (WHO) and is the first African to do so since the creation of the United Nations agency in 1948. ii. He will begin his five-year term on 1 July 2017. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has replaced Margret Chan who steps down after ten years as the WHO chief. Static Takeaways- WHO‘s Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948, a date which is celebrated every year as World Health Day

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WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr B. Chisholm was the first Director-General of WHO Japan to build war museum in Manipur i. Japan is going to build a war museum at the hillock at Maiba Lokpa in Bishnupur district in Manipur where a Japanese camp was located during World War II. ii. The Japanese ambassador Kenji Hiramatsu, has stated that about 70,000 Japanese soldiers had died in battles from March to June 1944 in Imphal and Kohima. Static Takeaways- PM of Japan is Shinzo Abe and its capital is Tokyo Currency of Japan is Yen Union Home Minister releases the book India 2017 Yearbook i. The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh has released the book India 2017 Yearbook authored by the Union Home Secretary, Shri Rajiv Mehrishi. ii. The CEO, NITI Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant was also present on the occasion. The book was published by the Mc Graw Hill Education India. Static Takeaways- Chairman of NITI Aayog is Prime Minister of India Current chairman of NITI Aayog is Shri Narendra Modi Kiren Rijiju unveils world's first philosophical novel on God i. In a rare feat, a young Indian IAS officer, Haulianlal Guite, who hails from Manipur state has recently published a book titled "Confessions of a dying mind: the blind faith of atheism" in New Delhi. ii. The book was unveiled by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in presence of David Syiemlieth, Chairman, UPSC in august gathering at Civil Services Officers' Institute. Static Takeaways- Dr. Najma Heptulla is the governor of Manipur Nongthobam Biren Singh is the present CM of Manipur Loktak Lake is situated in Manipur which is the largest fresh water lake in the North-East. Roger Moore, Who Played James Bond 007 Times passes away i. Actor Sir Roger Moore, best known for playing James Bond, has died at age 89. ii. He played the famous spy in seven Bond films including Live and Let Die and A View to a Kill. iii. Sir Roger was also well known for his humanitarian work he was introduced to UNICEF by the late Audrey Hepburn and was appointed as a goodwill ambassador in 1991. Static Takeaways- UNICEF full form is The United Nations Children's Fund and its headquarter is in New york City, USA Executive Director of UNICEF is Anthony Lake.

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25th May 2017 Important Cabinet Approvals- 24 May 2017 i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval in the various fields and has also approved some important MoUs. The important approvals of the Cabinet are as follows- The Cabinet has approved- MoU between India and Bangladesh on cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. Raising of Bonds of Rs. 2360 crores for Renewable Energy. Joint Declaration of Intent between Germany and India regarding cooperation in the sector of alternative medicine. Phasing out Foreign Investment Promotion Board. MoU between Spain and India on cooperation in the field of Organ Transplant Services. Setting up of new AIIMS in Kamrup, Assam. The allocation of 2.5 per cent of Central Road Fund for development and maintenance of National Waterways (NWs) by amending the Central Road Fund Act, 2000. Govt launches ‘eSanad’ for online document verification i. The Human Resource Development Ministry and the External Affairs Ministry launched an online verification portal 'e-sanad' to make the document verification process easier for students who planning to study abroad. ii. 'e-Sanad' is an initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in association with two other ministries with the help of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). iii. CBSE becomes the first Board to partner with MEA for e-Sanad. Static Takeaways- Human Resource Development Minister of India is Prakash Javedkar External Affairs Minister of India is Sushma Swaraj CBSE Chairman is RK. Chaturvedi. BSNL launches satellite phone service using Inmarsat i. State-owned BSNL started satellite phone service through INMARSAT which will be initially offered to government agencies and later opened for others citizen in phased manner. ii. The service will cover areas where no networks are present and be provided by INMARSAT which has 14 satellites. Agencies handling disasters, state police, railways, Border Security Force and other government agencies will be given the phones in the first phase Static Takeaways- BSNL Chairman and Managing Director is Anupam Shrivastava Full form of BSNL is Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and its headquarter is in New Delhi. BSNL was founded in 2000. INMARSAT full form is International Maritime Satellite EDII and ITC bags Porter Prize 2017 i. Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Gujarat and ITC Ltd have won the Porter Prize 2017. ii. ITC bags for Excellence in Corporate Governance and Integration and for its contribution in Creating Shared Value. iii. The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), is an autonomous body and not-for-profit institution, set up in 1983, is sponsored by apex financial institutions, namely the IDBI Bank Ltd, IFCI Ltd. ICICI Ltd and State 0422 4204182,9884267599 1st Street Gandhipuram Coimbatore Page 55

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Bank of India (SBI). Static Takeaways- Porter Prize is named after Michael E. Porter, an economist, researcher, author, advisor, speaker, teacher. Two Indian peacekeepers honoured posthumously with UN medal i. Two Indian peacekeepers Rifleman Brijesh Thapa and Ravi Kumar were among 117 military, police and civilian personnel honoured by the United Nations with a prestigious UN medal awarded posthumously for courage and sacrifice in the line of duty. ii. They received the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal on the Ocassion of International Day of UN Peacekeepers which was observed on 24 May, 2017. Static Takeaways- António Guterres is the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. United Nations headquarter is in New York City, USA. IIT-Kharagpur signs MoU with Madhya Pradesh for measuring Happiness Index i. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur's Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness has signed an MoU with Madhya Pradesh government to collaborate on the development of a Happiness Index for measuring the well-being of the people of the state. ii. The MoU was signed with MP government's 'Rajya Anandam Sansthan' (Department of Happiness) in the presence of MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and IIT-KGP Director Prof P P Chakrabarti at Bhopal recently. Static Takeaways- Prof P P Chakrabarti is the Director of IIT Kharagpur Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh is Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan Om Prakash Kohli is the Governor of Madhya Pradesh Kanha National Park is situated in Madhya Pradesh famous for Tigers Socialist Lenin Moreno sworn in as Ecuador president i. Lenin Moreno was sworn in as Ecuador's president following a tight electoral race that the former vice president won on promises of maintaining the social programs of his leftist predecessor, Rafael Correa. ii. The 64-year-old Moreno, a socialist, last month won a runoff vote in the oil-exporting country, bucking a shift to the right in South America as leftist governments struggle to maintain support. Static Takeaways- Ecuador capital is Quito and its currency is United States Dollar New Book on 's Winning Formula Revealed by Abhirup Bhattacharya i. A new book ―Winning like Virat: Think & Succeed like Kohli‖ by Abhirup Bhattacharya, unravels the secrets of the cricketer‘s consistent form, while attempting to decode his philosophy towards life. ii. In the book, the writer etches Virat‘s success curve by using statistics that chart his performances and anecdotes from his predecessors and contemporaries in the game. Static Takeaways-  Virat Kohli was awarded the Award at the BCCI award ceremony 2017.

P V Sindhu Elected to Badminton World Federation Athletes' Commission i. Olympic silver medalist P.V. Sindhu became a member of the BWF Athletes' Commission after voting closed for the four places on the representative body.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 ii. The 21-year-old Indian topped the ballot with 129 votes as she led a trio of women onto the BWF Athletes' Commission. She will serve for four years term. Static Takeaways- BWF was initially called as The International Badminton Federation (IBF), was established in London, on 5 July 1934 with nine founding member associations The BWF is a federation of 188 members globally BWF is headquaretered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ashwin wins International Cricketer of the Year award i. India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin won the coveted International Cricketer of the Year award at the CEAT Cricket Rating (CCR) International awards 2017. ii. The award was presented to Ashwin by former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar and Harsh Goenka, Chairman of RPG Enterprises, at a function held at the Cricket Club of India. Static Takeaways- Ravichandran Ashwin won both the ICC Cricketer of the Year 2016 and the ICC Test cricketer of the Year 2016 award. 26th May 2017 Uttar Pradesh Govt. launches JE vaccination drive in 38 districts i. In Uttar Pradesh, a massive immunisation drive has been launched in 38 districts to eradicate Japanese Encephalitis (JE). Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched the drive from Kushinagar district. The government also launched a toll-free number to get or provide any information about encephalitis. The number is 18001805544. His several cabinet colleagues also participated in the launch programmes in different districts. Drive will be continued by June 11th, 2017. ii. Initiating the drive from a slum locality in Kushinagar district, Mr Yogi issued an appeal to all the public representatives starting from MPs to village Pradhans to give their full cooperation in the drive. Static Takeaways- Ram Naik is Governor of Uttar Pradesh Dudhwa National Park is a national park in Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state. As per details from Census 2011, Uttar Pradesh has the population of 19.98 Crores. Mumbai is second most crowded city in the world: WEF Mumbai is second most crowded city in the world: WEF i. Two Indian cities — Mumbai and Kota — have been named among the world‘s most crowded in a list topped by Dhaka, according to World Economic Forum (WEF) citing UN-Habitat data. With a population density of 44,500 people per square kilometre, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is the most crowded city on the planet, followed by India‘s financial capital Mumbai, home to 31,700 people per square kilometre at the second place. ii. Kota in Rajasthan with 12,100 people per square kilometre was ranked seventh. Others in the list include Medellin in Columbia ranked third with 19,700 people per square kilometre, Manila, Philippines (4th, 14,800), Casablanca, Morocco (5th, 14,200), Lagos, Nigeria (6th, 13,300), Singapore (8th, 10,200) and Jakarta, Indonesia (9th, 9,600). Static Takeaways- World Economic Forum (WEF) was established in 1971. 0422 4204182,9884267599 1st Street Gandhipuram Coimbatore Page 57

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WEF is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The Gateway of India is a monument built during the 20th century in Mumbai City of Maharashtra state in Western India. PM Modi inaugurates India's longest bridge in Assam i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the country‘s longest bridge - the Dhola-Sadia Bridge in Assam on. Mr Modi walked a short distance over the bridge and enjoyed two minutes of solitude amidst his hectic schedule, with a strong wind above him and gushing waters below him as his companions. ii. Mr Modi named the bridge after legendary singer Bhupen Hazarika. This three-lane, the 9.15-kilometre bridge has been built over the Brahmaputra river. It links Dhola to Sadia, both in Assam. The bridge will reduce the distance from Rupai on NH- 37 in Assam to Meka-Roing on NH-52 in Arunachal Pradesh by 165 KM. The travel time between the two places will come down from the current six hours to just one hour, a total five-hour reduction. Static Takeaways- Banwarilal Purohit is Governor of Assam. Sarbananda Sonowal is Chief Minister of Assam. The Kamakhya Temple also Kamrup-Kamakhya is a Hindu temple dedicated to the mother goddess Kamakhya is in located in Kamakhya, Guwahati in Assam. Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from Assam. US Senate confirms Indian-American Amul Thapar to key judicial post US Senate confirms Indian-American Amul Thapar to key judicial post i. The United States Senate has confirmed Indian-American Judge Amul Thapar to a key judicial position on the powerful US court of appeals. Thapar, the first Indian-American to be nominated by US President Donald Trump for the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals, was confirmed by the Senate 52-44, a vote on party lines. ii. With this, 48-year-old Thapar will become the second South Asian judge to be on the US Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears appeals from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan. Thapar, currently a US District Court Judge, was nominated by Trump on 21st March. Thapar received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Static Takeaways- Since 1976 the US Senate Historical Office has conducted interviews with senators and staff. Office of Senator is in Washington, D.C. Donald John Trump is the 45th and current President of the United States. The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. President receives book on PM Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' i. President Pranab Mukherjee has received the first copy of two books 'Mann Ki Baat-A Social Revolution on Radio' and 'Marching with a Billion-Analysing Narendra Modi‘s Government at Mid term' at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Speaker of Lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan formally released the books at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan. The book Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio by Rajesh Jain is a compilation of Prime Minister Modi‘s addresses to the nation on All India Radio every month under the programme Mann Ki Baat. ii. It contains a comprehensive, qualitative and academic analysis of programme - the themes, the choice of topics, the salient features. It illustrates how this programme has connected with the New India - the youth in particular. It also

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 presents a coherent narrative about the manner in which 'Mann Ki Baat' has created mass movements, including cleanliness, safer roads, and drugs free India. iii. The book Marching with a Billion- Analysing Narendra Modi‘s Government at Mid-term written by eminent journalist Uday Mahurkar analyses the monumental changes that PM Narendra Modi has brought on multiple fronts as Prime Minister on India's governance landscape by ushering in an unprecedented culture of transparency to create a level playing field. Static Takeaways- ‗Mann Ki Baat‘ is a unique initiative of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to reach the masses across the country through the Radio. PM Modi's Mann Ki Baat programme was first aired on October 03rd 2014. Google India head Rajan Anandan appointed IAMAI chairman i. Google‘s vice-president for South East Asia and India, Rajan Anandan has been appointed the new chairman of Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). ii. He will take over from FreeCharge‘s co-founder and chief executive officer Kunal Shah. MakeMyTrip Chairman & Group CEO Deep Kalra has taken over as vice-chairman from music app Saavn co-founder and president Vinodh Bhat; Facebook‘s managing director - India & South Asia, Umang Bedi has been elected as the new treasurer of the association, while Subho Ray continues to be the president. The tenure of the new Council is for two years. Static Takeaways- The Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is a not-for-profit industry body registered under the Societies Act, 1896. Founded in January 2004 by leading portals in India, IAMAI is the only specialised industry body in India representing the interests of online and mobile value added services industry. 27th and 28th May 2017 India announces $500 mn assistance to Mauritius i. India announced a $500 million line of credit to Mauritius as the two countries resolved to deepen ties in a range of areas including the maritime domain. The two countries also signed a maritime security agreement after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth. ii. In a statement, Modi stated he and Jugnauth agreed that effective management of conventional and non- conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities. Goldman, Citigroup among 5 bankers selected for IOC stake sale i. The government has selected five merchant bankers, including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, to manage the government's 3 per cent stake sale in IOC (Indian Oil Corporation) which could fetch about Rs 6,000 crore to the exchequer. The other bankers who have been selected by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) for managing the stake sale are Deutsche Equities, SBI Capital Markets and ICICI Securities. ii. As many as 10 merchant bankers had made presentations before the DIPAM yesterday, out of which five were selected. Apple opens first official store in Southeast Asia i. Apple opened its first Southeast Asia store in Singapore, drawing hundreds of excited fans to the swanky two-storey site in the city‘s upmarket shopping district. Located on the affluent Orchard Road, the new shop — easily

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 distinguished by its iconic glass facade — is expected to be one of the most popular Apple stores in the world according to the US tech giant. ii. Merchandise such as the iPhone and MacBook were strategically placed on display across the spacious first floor, while the upper level acted as a classroom for customers to participate in hands-on sessions. Nagpur gets India's first fleet of electric vehicles i. The Orange City (Nagpur) has become India‘s first city to have electric mass mobility system. It will have a fleet of 200 electric vehicles including taxis, buses, e-rickshaw and autorickshaws, all of which will be fully owned by cab aggregator Ola. ii. Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated India‘s first multi-modal electric vehicle project at the Nagpur Airport Complex. India-Mauritius sign four agreements i. Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth is on a three-day visit to India. This is his first port of call after assuming office and India laid out a red carpet welcome to make it a truly historic and memorable first visit. Apart from announcing a 500 million USD line of credit, India offered unconditional cooperation in the key area of maritime security in the Indian Ocean region. ii. Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured Mauritius of continued Indian support in other important sectors including skill development and human resource development. Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth had extensive delegation level talks with Indian PM Narendra Modi. At the conclusion of the talks, both the countries inked four important agreements in the field of education, maritime security, marine science and technology. 29th May 2017 PM Narendra Modi to embark on 4-nation tour today i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a four nation tour beginning today. He will visit Germany first. Trade and commerce, economic cooperation and counter terrorism will be high on the agenda during the Prime Minister‘s visit to Germany, Spain, Russia and France. ii. He will take part in the 4th Indo-German Inter-governmental Consultations. Mr. Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Spain in almost 30 years. Static Takeaways- Capital of Germany is Berlin and its President is Frank-Walter Steinmeier Madrid is the Capital of Spain and its PM is Mariano Rajoy The Capital of Russia is Moscow its Currency is Russian rubleand President is Vladimir Putin The Capital of France is Paris, its President is Emmanuel Macron and Prime minister is Edouard Philippe. International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers: 29th May i. 29 May is celebrated as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. ii. The day was established to Honour the memory of the UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the cause of peace and pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in UN peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage. iii. The theme for the 2017 International Day of UN Peacekeepers is ―Investing in Peace Around the World". Static Takeaways- The first UN peacekeeping mission was established in 1948

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt was first used in the Declaration by United Nations of 1 January 1942 On 24 October 1945, The United Nations officially comes into existence Antonio Guterres is the Secretary-General of United Nations United Nations is headquartered in New York. Vadodara creates Guinness record for most people sweeping street i. Vadodara, which was declared the 10th cleanest city in the country made a new Guinness world record for the maximum number of people sweeping a single venue. ii. About 5,058 residents of the city came together to achieve the feat at the venue which was a bridge that connected Akota, an urban area. iii. The large-scale event saw about 50,000 people in attendance as they cheered and rendered their support to the participants. The event was organised as a tribute to prime minister Narendra Modi‘s ‗Swachh Bharat Abhiyan‘ initiative. Static Takeaways For SBI PO Mains Exam- Indore was the the Cleanest city in India Gonda was the dirtiest city in India The capital of Gujarat is Gandhinagar Om Prakash Kohli is the current governor of Gujarat. Pune city police receive FICCI Smart Policing Award 2017 i. The Pune city police have received the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) Smart Police Award for the year 2017. ii. Pune Police Commissioner Rashmi Shukla received the award from BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi during a program organized by FICCI and Vivekanand International Foundation on Homeland Security in Delhi. iii. The program focused on the use of modern technology for countering internal security issues. Static Takeaways- FICCI full form is Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries President of FICCI is Pankaj R Patel. Dailong village in Manipur declared Biodiversity Heritage Site i. The Manipur government has declared Dailong village of Tamenglong district as a Biodiversity Heritage Site of the state. Dailong village, covering an area of 11.35 sq km, has been declared as Biodiversity Heritage Site under Section 37(1) of Biological Diversity Act, 2002. ii. The declaration was made after the recommendation of Manipur Biodiversity Board, the state government has stated in the notification. Static Takeaways- CM of Manipur is N. Biren Singh and the governor is Dr. Najma Hptulla The Keibul Lamjao National Park is situated in Manipur. ISRO set to launch monster rocket into space i. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch its most powerful launch vehicle, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III into space. ii. ISRO will be launching the GSLV Mark III, earlier named Launch Vehicle Mark (LVM)-3, a heavy launch

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 capability launcher, on June 5, 2017 from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Important Points about GSLV-Mark-III: 1. GSLV Mark-III enables ISRO to launch from India heavier communication spacecraft to geostationary orbits of 36,000 km. 2. GSLV Mark III will launch the GSAT-19 satellite, which is a high throughput communication satellite. It will help in India‘s efforts to increase internet connectivity in the country. 3. The GSLV is a three-stage vehicle with two solid motor strap-ons, a liquid propellant core stage (L110) and a cryogenic stage (C25). 4. GSLV-Mk III-D1 is the first developmental flight carrying the GSAT-19 satellite. China launches satellite navigation positioning system i. China launched a national satellite navigation and positioning system which will provide positioning service to transportation, emergency medical rescue and city planning and management. It is the largest in the country and boasts the widest coverage. ii. The system consists of 2,700 base stations, a national database centre and 30 provincial level database centers. iii. The system, featuring faster speed, higher accuracy and wider coverage, will be compatible with other satellite navigation systems, such as the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and Global Position System (GPS). Static Takeaways- PM of China is Li Keqiang and President is Xi Jinping Currency of China is Renminbi and Capital is Beijing The Great Wall of China is situated at Huairou in China. IOC overtakes ONGC to become India's most profitable PSU i. Indian Oil Corporation has overtaken Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to become India‘s most profitable state-owned company. ii. IOC, which has for decades been India‘s biggest company by turnover, posted a 70 per cent jump in net profit to Rs. 19,106.40 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2017. iii. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries retained the crown of being India‘s most profitable private company for the third year in a row, posting a net Rs. 29,901 crore in financial year 2016-17. Tata Consultancy Services, India‘s largest software services exporter, with a net profit of Rs. 26,357 crore was the second most profitable private company in the country. Static Takeaways- Mr. B. Ashok is Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. Dinesh K. Sarraf is the Chairman & Managing Director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. Natarajan Chandrasekaran is the Chairman of TCS. Defence Minister inaugurates DRDO‘s Aeronautical Test Range in Karnataka i. Union Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the Defence Research and Development Organisation‘s (DRDO)‘s new Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Karnataka. ii. The ATR is a facility under the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) which works on a range of UAVs (unmanned air vehicles). It will be an integrated test center for the DRDO‘s cluster of aeronautical laboratories, most of them based in Bengaluru. Static Takeaways-

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CEO of DRDO is S. Christopher and its headquarter is in New Delhi. Satyabrata Rout gets Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar i. Satyabrata Rout, a professor from the Department of Theatre Arts, S N School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad (UoH) has been awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar for the year 2016. ii. He is one of the pioneers of ‗visual theater‘ in India, and has ‗Scenography: An Indian Perspective‘. Static Takeaways- The Sangeet Natak Akademi created by a resolution of the Ministry of Education, Government of India on 31 May 1952. BSF officer summits Mount Everest a record 6th time, 1st Indian to clinch feat i. Uttarakhand Mountaineer Love Raj Singh Dharmshaktu has become the first Indian to summit Mount Everest a record six times. ii. Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, the premier institute of mountaineering under the ministry of defence in Uttarkashi, has confirmed that Dharmshaktu is the first Indian to summit the peak six times. Static Takeaways for SBI PO Mains Exam- Mount Everest, also known in Nepal as Sagarmāthā and in China as Chomolungma, is Earth's highest mountain. Mount Everest height is about 8,848 meters. Sudirman Cup 2017: South Korea beat China to clinch the title after 14 years i. South Korea won Badminton's Sudirman Cup for the first time in 14 years with 3-2 victory over 10-time champions China at Australia's Gold Coast. ii. Before 2017, South Korea won the Sudirman Cup in 1991 and 1993, fought back from 2-1 down in the final to claim victory. Static Takeaways- South Korea capital is Seoul and currency is South Korean Won. Priyanka Chopra bags Dadasaheb Phalke Award i. Actress Priyanka Chopra will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award for being an international icon. 'Internationally Acclaimed Actress' category at a ceremony. ii. The board of trustees for Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards include Johny Lever, Pahlaj Nihalani, Mithun Chakraborty and TP Agrawal. The award ceremony will be held on June 1, 2017 in Mumbai. Static Takeaways- The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema and it was established in 1969. The first recipient of this award was Devika Rani.

30th May 2017 Govt to launch new campaign called Darwaza Band i. The government launched new campaign called Darwaza Band for promotion of toilet usage in the rural areas across the country. ii. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, who leads the campaign, is proposed to be joined by Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Narendra Singh Tomar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 formal launch event to be held in Mumbai. iii. The campaign also features actor, Anushka Sharma, who will be seen encouraging women to stand up for this issue in their villages and assume a leadership role. Static Takeaways- Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a campaign by the Government of India to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country's 4,041 statutory cities and towns. It is launched on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti 02nd October 2014. Prakash Javadekar launches UGC App to fight ragging i. Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar launched an Anti-Ragging Mobile App introduced by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in New Delhi. ii. This mobile app will help students register complaints to counter the menace of ragging. iii. This app will work on android system on which students can log in and register their complaints immediately. Accordingly all concerned will be informed immediately and action will start immediately. Static Takeaways- The University Grants Commission of India is a statutory body set up by the Indian Union government in accordance to the UGC Act 1956. It comes under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. EPFO gives nod to hike in stock investment to 15 per cent i. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation has approved hike in investment limit in exchange traded funds (ETFs) to 15%, from the existing 10%, Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya stated it. ii. The decision was taken during the meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT). In 2016, the investment was raised to 10%. Static Takeaways- EPFO came into existence under the pormulgation of the Employee's Provident Fund Ordinance on the 15th November,1951. It was replaced by the Employee's Provident Fund Act, 1952. Banks Board Bureau gets 2 more members i. The government has expanded the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) headed by former comptroller and auditor general Vinod Rai by adding two more members. ii. Former Allahabad Bank chairperson and managing director Shubhalaxmi Panse and private equity player Pradip Shah have been inducted into the board as independent members. Static Takeaways- Banks Board Bureau (BBB) headed by Vinod Rai The Bureau started functioning from April 01, 2016 as an autonomous recommendatory body. Prasar Bharati signs MoU with Morocco's SNRT i. Government-run Prasar Bharati has got into an agreement with Morocco's Societe Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Television (SNRT) to step up cooperation in the broadcasting sector. ii. The MoU was signed during the fifth India Morocco Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Rabat, Morocco's capital. Static Takeaways for Dena Bank PO Exam- SNRT full form is Societe Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Television

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Morocco currency is Moroccan Dirham and its capital is Rabat. Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla appointed Jamia Millia Islamia Chancellor i. Manipur Governor and former Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla has been appointed as the Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. ii. 77-year old Heptulla succeeds Lt. Gen. (Retd.) M.A. Zaki, who completes his five-year term this month. Ms. Heptulla will also serve for the term of five-years. Static Takeaways- Talat Ahmad is the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia, an institution originally established at Aligarh, in 1920 it became a Central University by an act of the Indian Parliament in 1988 In Urdu language, Jamia means ‗University‘, and Millia means ‗National‘. Amul inks MoU with ISRO for fodder acreage estimation i. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) has signed an agreement with ISRO for fodder acreage assessment using satellite observation and space technology. ii. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ISRO will help in identification between food crops and fodder crops at village level and also locate suitable areas of current fallows and cultivable wastelands at village level for green fodder cultivation. Static Takeaways- Managing Director of GCMMF is R S Sodhi Chairman of ISRo is A S Kiran Kumar ISRO was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka Vikram Sarabhai was the founder of ISRO India is second most complex tax jurisdiction: Deloitte i. Indian tax laws are perceived to be second most complex in the Asia-Pacific region, becoming even less predictable over the last three years, according to Deloitte survey. ii. India ranks only after China in having most complex jurisdiction for taxation and most complicated requirements of tax, the Asia Pacific Tax Complexity Survey conducted by Deloitte.Japan, Australia, Indonesia and South Korea trail India in the complexity index. Static Takeaways- CEO of Deloitte is Punit Renjen. Former Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis dies i. Constantine Mitsotakis, a former prime minister of Greece remembered for fierce confrontations with Greece's liberal and socialist parties has died. ii. He served in several Cabinet posts, including finance minister, in liberal governments in 1951-52 and 1963-65. Static Takeaways- Greece Capital is Athens and its Currency is Euro PM of Greece is Alexis Tsipras. Fencer Bhavani Devi, First Indian to win gold in International Event i. Indian fencer C A Bhavani Devi struck gold in the Turnoi Satellite Fencing Championship at Reykjavik (Iceland). ii. Bhavani Devi, who hails from Chennai, defeated Great Britain‘s Sarah Jane Hampson 15-13.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 iii.With this win, Bhavani Devi has also become the first Indian to win a gold medal in an international fencing event. She had previously won a silver medal. Static Takeaways- Fencing, also called Olympic fencing, is a sport in which two competitors fight using 'rapier-style' swords. Sebastian Vettel wins Monaco Grand Prix i. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix at the Circuit de Monaco, La Condamine and Monte Carlo, Monaco. ii. The second place in the race was secured by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, while the third place was secured by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. Static Takeaways- Sebastian Vettel is a German racing driver currently driving in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari.

31st May 2017 World No Tobacco Day: 31 May i. World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on May 31. The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2017 is "Tobacco – a threat to development." ii. This theme has been set by the World Health Organization, WHO. The campaign aims to demonstrate the threats that the tobacco industry poses to sustainable development, including the health and economic well-being of citizens in all countries. Static Takeaways- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will be the New head of WHO after replacing Margaret Chan. Headquarter of WHO is in Geneva, Switzerland. The member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day in 1987. India and Fiji Sign MoU on Defence Cooperation i. The Minister of Defence and National Security of Fiji, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola accompanied by his delegation signed a MoU with the Minister of Defence, Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley in New Delhi. ii. An MoU on defence cooperation envisaging several areas of cooperation including in defence industry, military training and humanitarian assistance & disaster management was signed. Static Takeaways- Fiji Capital is Suva and its Currency is Fijian Dollar. Frank Bainimarama is the PM of Fiji. India, Germany sign 12 agreements i. India and Germany inked twelve memoranda of understanding and agreements following bilateral delegation-level talks presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Germany Chancellor . ii. The agreements inked included nine joint declarations of intent (JDIs) and three memoranda of understanding. The agreements include collaboration in the field of digitalization, skill development, and cooperation in cyber policy. Besides, the two nations also agreed to resume the free trade talks between India and the . Static Takeaways- The Capital of Germany is Berlin and its Currency is Euro.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

43rd G7 Summit held in , Italy i. 43rd G7 Summit was held on 26-27 May, 2017 in Taormina, Sicily, Italy. The 43rd G7 summit was the first summit for British Prime Minister Theresa May. ii. The Group of 7 (G7) is a group consisting of , France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union is also represented within the G7. The theme of the Italian G7 Summit 2017 is-" Building the Foundation of Renewed Trust." Static Takeaways- The first occasion of G7 Summit was in 1980 in , Italy Next G-7 Summit will be held in Canada in 2018. This is the sixth time that Italy has taken over the rotating G7 Presidency PM of Italy is and the capital and currency is Rome and Euro respectively. New pink-green one rupee notes to be in circulation soon i. The Reserve Bank of India will soon put into circulation currency notes in one rupee denomination. New one rupee notes with predominantly pink-green on obverse and reverse in combination with other colours will be soon put into circulation. ii. The notes bearing the rupee symbol have been printed by the Government of India. At present, one rupee coins are minted. The note will bear signature of Shaktikanta Das, Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. iii. The numbering will be in black at right-hand bottom portion of the note. On the reverse side, the year ‗2017‘ is mentioned. There is also a representation of One Rupee coin with rupee symbol having floral design and the surrounding design consists of the picture of ‗Sagar Samrat‘ the oil exploration platform. Static Takeaways- BP Kanungo is the New Deputy Governor of RBI after replacing of R Gandhi Urjit Patel is the 24th Governor of RBI and its headquarter is in Mumbai RBI was nationalised in 1949. India ranks 120th among 131 nations in women workforce: World Bank report i. According to India Development Report released by World Bank, India had one of the lowest female participation in the workforce, ranking 120th among 131 countries. ii. As per the report, the participation level has been dropping since 2005, despite having 42% women who are graduates. Jobs for Indian women remain primarily in the agriculture sector. iii. The share of women in services and industry is less than 20%. Indian women‘s workforce participation is closer to Pakistan (24.6 percent) and the Arab world (23.3 percent) while neighboring Countries Nepal (79.9 percent) and China (63.9 percent) are leagues ahead. Static Takeaways- World Bank President is Jim Yong Kim and its headquarter is in Washington D.C. USA World Bank was founded in 1944. Pentagon successfully tests ICBM defense system for first time i. United States has for the first time successfully tested its defence system against an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). ii. A ground-based interceptor was launched at a California air base and shot down a mock ballistic missile. As per the Pentagon, the test comes after Pyongyang fired its ninth missile this year.

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017 iii. It was the first live-fire test against a simulated ICBM for the Ground-Based Missile Defense. Static Takeaways- The Pentagon headquarters in Washington, D.C. U.S.A. The Pentagon is situated across the Potomac River. India’s Health Minister JP Nadda gets WHO’s special recognition for tobacco control i. World No-Tobacco-Day is observed on 31st May globally. On this day people are encouraged to observe abstinence of 24 hours from all forms of tobacco consumption. ii. This year Union Health Minister of India Jagat Prakash Nadda is chosen for WHO Director-General Special Recognition Awards for accelerating India‘s tobacco control initiatives and taking bold measures to protect people against hazards of tobacco use. Static Takeaways- The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2017 is "Tobacco – a threat to development" India to have its own GPS system from 2018 i.Coming next year, you won't have to rely on heavily accented lady for directions on Google Maps. Instead India will be having its own GPS system. 'NavIC' will be operational early 2018. ii. NavIC or 'Navigation with Indian Constellation' the name given by PM Narendra Modi after the launch of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System IRNSS-1G, is designed to provide accurate position information to users within the country. Static Takeaways- Full Form of NavIC is Navigation with Indian Constellation. Harmanpreet Kaur become the first Indian woman to play in Kia Super League i. Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of India's T20 team has become the first Indian Women cricketer to play in Kia Super League, the England T20 League. Static Takeaways- The Kia Super League is also known as the Women's Cricket Super League. Kohli only Indian in top 10 of ICC ODI rankings i. India captain Virat Kohli is the lone cricketer from the country to feature in the top 10 of the ICC Players Rankings for ODIs as he managed to hold on to his third spot in the batsman's chart. ii. The top three batsmen South Africa's AB de Villiers (874 rating points), Australian David Warner (871) and Kohli (852) are separated by just 22 points. Static Takeaways- Virat Kohli received the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award during BCCI‘s International Cricketer of the Year awards 2017. Virat Kohli is the first to receive the Polly Umrigar Award award thrice. He had won the award in 2011-12 and in 2014-15. wins fourth Golden Shoe i. Barcelona striker Lionel Messi won the European Golden Shoe for a record-equaling fourth time having scored 37 goals in the Spanish league. ii. He drew level with Real Madrid‘s with the fourth honor Static Takeaways-

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Unique IAS Academy – Current Affairs MAY 2017

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team.

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