Current Affairs – May27, 2018

S.No Topic Page Number

1 Important Days 2

2 World News 3

3 National News 4 - 5

4 State News 6

5 Banking & Economy 7 - 8

6 Sports 9

8 Appointments & Resignation 10

9 Science & Technology 11

10 Obtiuaries 12 - 13

Important Days

Luton International Carnival Day

 Luton International Carnival is a large carnival in Luton, Bedfordshire. The carnival is commissioned by Luton Borough Council and is artistically produced by UK Centre for Carnival Arts, which is based in Luton town centre.  Traditionally it took place on the Spring Bank Holiday Monday every year, but since 2013 it has been on the Sunday of the bank holiday weekend.

World News

US President Trump says US in productive talks about reinstating North Korea summit

 US President Donald Trump very productive talks have been held with North Korea about reinstating the summit with Kim Jong-un.  In a tweet Mr. Trump said, the meeting could still take place on June 12 in Singapore and if necessary will be extended beyond that date.  He cancelled the summit blaming the North's open hostility. But North Korea later said, it was willing to talk to the US at any time in any form.  Meanwhile, South Korea has welcomed the renewed prospect of the summit. The summit would be an unprecedented meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader, which Washington hopes will result in the full denuclearization of the reclusive state.

Ireland votes for change; legalises abortion

 Ireland has voted by a landslide to legalise abortion in a stunning outcome that marks a dramatic defeat for the Catholic Church’s one-time domination of the Republic.  The Irish electorate voted by 1,429,981 votes to 723,632 in favour of abolishing a controversial constitutional amendment that gave equal legal status to the lives of a foetus and the woman carrying it.

National News

1st phase of Delhi-Meerut expressway inaugurated by PM

 On May 27, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 1 phase of Delhi-Meerut expressway.  The Delhi-Meerut Expressway aims to provide safe connectivity from Delhi to Meerut to Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.  The total length of the the project 8 km. Out of this the first 27.74kmswill be a 14-laned while the rest is for a 6-lane expressway.  The cost of the project Rs. 4975.17crore.  It is the first 28km stretch that will be dedicated to bicycle tracks from Delhi and Dasna.  The project will consist of construction of 11 flyovers/interchanges, 5 major and 24 minor, 3 ROBs (Rail over bridges), 36 vehicular and 14 pedestrian underpasses.  The project would reduce the travel time from Delhi to Meerut to just60 minutes.

15th Finance Commission to visit to Kerala from 28th to 31st May 2018

 From May 28- 31, the 15 Finance Commission wiil be visiting Kerala.  Kerala is the first state in Southern India to be visited by the Commission.  To assess the state of finance of Kerala and progress of the state in the socio-economic sector.  The commission was led by Chairman N.k. Singh.  Kerala is the 10 largest states that contributes to 4.2% of GDP of the nation. It has the highest per capita income.  The state has a booming service sector.  Emigration and Immigration remittances are huge in Kerala.  In terms of development indicators like per capita income, poverty ratio, health and education Kerala has better points than national average.  Social sector spending for the senior age group (>60 years) is of some concern as the life expectancy is increased.  Kerala’s literacy level is 94%that is highest among all the states.  More discussions are to be made on the developments with the CM, finance department, various political Parties and the rural and urban local self governments and Panchayati Raj institutions.

E-Way Bill System for Intra-State Goods Movement Comes Into Force in Seven More States, UTs

 E-Way Bill system for intra-State movement of goods will be implemented in seven more states and Union Territories from 27th May 2018. The States are Maharashtra, Manipur, Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep.  With this, the number of States, where the system is being implemented, will go up to 27. As per the decision of the GST Council, e-Way Bill system has been rolled out from 1st of April this year.

NIA files charge sheet against 10 suspected terrorists for receiving funds from Lashkar-e-Taiba for terror activities in India

 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a charge sheet against 10 suspected terrorists for receiving funds from the main operatives of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) based in Pakistan and UAE for reviving terrorist activities in India.  The charge sheet was filed in a special NIA court in Delhi yesterday under various sections of Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Passport Act, Aadhar Act, and the Arms Act. The case was registered in November last year.  The terrorists Shaikh Abdul Naeem received funds from LeT for terrorist activities in India and were using it to establish hideouts, recruit people for LeT and to do reconnaissance of targets.

State News

Akshay kumar launches twin pit toilet technology campaign in New Delhi

 Film actor Akshay kumar launched the twin pit toilet technology campaign in New Delhi. Mr. Kumar said, the real challenge in the society is to fight the age old mentality revolving around sanitation and cleanliness.  The actor appealed everybody to spread the awareness on the issue and make the cleanliness drive more effective.

Ninth Edition of Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav Inaugurated In Uttarakhand

 Ministry of Culture organized 3-Day long diversified cultural festival ‘Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav’ festival which was inaugurated by Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat, Near Tehri Lake, Uttrakhand. It is the ninth edition of this festival.  Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav was conceived by the Ministry of Culture in the year 2015 when the Ministry decided to organize it with an intent to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Country in all its rich and varied dimensions.

Telangana Government announces unique life insurance scheme for farmers

 Telangana government has announced a unique life insurance scheme for farmers. Under the scheme, the government will provide life insurance facility of five lakh rupees to the nominee, after the death of the insured farmer.  The entire premium will be paid by the government to the insurance agency and the nominee will get the amount within ten days of the claim after the death of the farmer. The dependent family will get the benefit irrespective of the reason for the death of the farmer.  Making the announcement in Hyderabad yesterday, Chief Minister Chandra Sekhara Rao said, Life Insurance Corporation India will implement the scheme. The farmers in the age group of 18 to 60 are eligible to enroll their names to get benefit from it. The scheme will come into force from 15th of August this year.

Banking & Economy

HDFC Bank will now offer Digital Loans against Customer mutual funds

India’s most valuable lender HDFC Bank has launched Digital Loans against Mutual Funds in partnership with transfer agent CAMS.

Customers can now pledge mutual fund assets online and get overdraft limit set in their account in under 3 minutes, the bank claimed.

UAV Rustom-2 drone to be made by HAL and delivered by 2020 to all 3 wings of Armed Forces: DRDO chief

 On May 27, 2018, the DRDO made the Rustom –II unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) will be delivered by the armed forces by 2020.  It has completed its first round test at Chitradurgain Karnataka.  It has been made of the use of all the three wings Armed forces viz. Air Force, Indian Army an Indian Navy.  It is made for primarily intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations.  The medium altitude prototype can fly at 22000 feet and has 20 hour long flight time endurance.  Manufacturing will be done by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Limited.  It would be delivered by2020 to the Armed forces.

Administrative charges cut to 0.5 pc: EPFO

 On May 27, 2018, the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) decided to cut its administrative charges by 0.5%.  This would help around 5,00,000 employers to save around Rs. 9 billion annually from the cut.  This would come into effect from June 1, 2018.  The Charges has been modified from 0.65 to 0.50 % of the wage paid by the employer.  Earlier EPFO has cuts its administrative charges from 1.10 to 0.85 in 2015, them to 0.65 in 2017.  EPFO has accumulated Rs. 38 billion through the charges in the last fiscal.

 It has a surplus of Rs.200 billion with an interest income of Rs.16 billion per annum.  The cut in charges won’t effect the EPFO as their subscriber base increases a lot.  Presently it has 500 million subscribers and a corpus of Rs. 10 trillion.

Sports News

Womens World Badminton Championship: Japan’s women clinch Uber Cup

 Japan’s women clinched the Uber Cup, The Womens World Badminton Championship, defeating Thailand 3-0 in Bangkok, ending a 37-year wait to regain the title.  It is the second most prestigious tournament after the Olympics. It is for badminton.

Real Madrid wins Champions Trophy defeating Liverpool by 3-1: Kiev

 On May 27, 2018, The Spanish Team of Real Madrid beat Liverpool from England by 3-1 goal in the Champions Trophy.  The Champions League was held in NSC Olimpiy skiy Stadium Kiev, Ukraine.  The Real Madrid team has won four such tournaments in 5 years.  The first goal was made Karim Benenza and the last two goals were made by Gareth Bale.

Appointments & Resignation

Mia Mottley as first woman PM of Barbados , wins by 100% majority

 On May 27, 2018. The Caribbean Island of Barbados has elected its first woman PM 52 year-old Ms. Mia Mottley.  She is the leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and won against the Democratic Labour Party (DLP).  She won all 30 seats of the House of Assembly and is a lawyer.  She replaces DLP candidate and former PM Freundel Stuart.

11 Board of Directors elected by TRIFED

 On May 25, 2018. The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED) elected 11 boards of directors in the general body meeting held.  Shri Ramesh Chand Meena was elected as the Chair person, Smt. Pratibha Bhrahma was elected as the Vice Chairman.

Saad Hariri reappointed as Lebanon’s prime minister

 Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri has been assigned for a third term in office, less than three weeks after elections that saw his movement lose ground in parliament.  The head of state summoned Prime Minister Saad Hariri and tasked him with forming a government," said a statement posted on social media by the office of President Michel Aoun.

President Appoints New Governors in Odisha and Mizoram

 BJP leaders Ganeshi Lal and Kummanam Rajasekharan were appointed as Governors of Odisha and Mizoram, respectively.  According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, Prof. Ganesh Lal will take over as the new governor of Odisha. He has replaced S C Jamir.  Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik had been given additional charge of Odisha. The President appointed Kerala BJP chief Kummanam Rajasekharan as the Governor of Mizoram. He will be replacing Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma.

Science & Technology

4 New elements Ruthenium (Ru) have magnetic properties: University of Minnesota.

 On May 27, 2018. A discovery led by researchers at University of Minnesota, US said that a new element has been found with magnetic properties.  The name of the chemical element is Ruthenium (Ru).  It is the fourth such element to have magnetic properties.  So far, Iron (Fe), cobalt (Co) and Nickel (Ni) has these similar properties. They are ferromagnetic at room temperature.  These elements can be used for their magnetic properties for better sensors, in the computer memory and logic industry and other devices using magnetic materials.  The study has been published in the journal ‘Nature Communications’.

Obituaries

Telugu film personality Madala Ranga Rao dies at 69 in Hyderabad

 Noted Telugu film personality Madala Ranga Rao, also popularly known as “Red Star” has passed away.  He acted and produced several films including hits such as ‘Yuvatharam Kadilindhi’, ‘Yerra Mallelu’, ‘Praja Shakthi’, ‘Swarajyam’, ‘Viplavashankham’ and ‘Mahaprasthanam’.

One of India’s most decorated General passes away aged 97

 One of India’s most decorated Generals, Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand Bakshi has passed away aged 97.  He was awarded the second-highest military decoration, Maha Vir Chakra, for his role in capturing the strategically important Haji Pir Pass during the 1965 war with Pakistan. Bakshi was also instrumental in capturing Akhnoor Dagger from Pakistan during 1971 war.

Civil rights attorney Lewis Myers Jr. passes away

 Civil rights attorney Lewis Myers Jr., who worked on a key lawsuit against racial discrimination in Mississippi’s higher education system, has passed away.  He was 70 years old.

Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean dead at 86

 Alan Bean, a NASA astronaut who journeyed into space two times and, as part of the Apollo 12 mission in 1969, became the fourth man to walk on the moon has passed away.  He was the former test pilot of US Navy.

 He was sent as an astronaut in 193 mission and flew to space twice and was the fourth person to walk on the Moon on Nov 19 1969.  He was in the Apollo 12 mission with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Charles ‘Pete’ Conrad.