Current Affairs – May 10, 2018 S.No Topic Page Number 1 World News 2 - 3 2 National News 4 - 6 3 State News 7 - 8 4 Banking & Economy 9 – 10 5 Sports News 11 6 Appointments & Resignation 12 7 Science & Techonology 13- 14 8 Obituaries 15 1 World News SCO Tourism ministers’ conference held in China On 9th May 2018, the SCO Tourism Ministers’ conference was held in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. This is the first tourism ministerial meeting between member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism and Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, India, K. J. Alphons represented India at the conference. Tourism ministers of member states of SCO deliberated on travel product development, tourist security and research on high-tech tourism management to develop a smart tourism system. An action plan for tourism cooperation between SCO member states from 2019 to 2020 was approved at the conference. The joint action plan specifies efforts for cooperation between national tourism administrations, measures to enhance tourist experience and safety, development of tourist products and promotion of smart tourism. India sends 2nd relief consignment for Rohingyas in Bangladesh Indian Government has sent 2nd relief consignment for Rohingyas (who fled Myanmar) residing in refugee camps in Bangladesh. The 373-tonne consignment, which was loaded on Indian Navy Ship INS Airavat sailed from Vishakhapatnam and reached Chattogram on May 7, 2018. The relief consignment contained 104 tonnes of milk powder, 61 tonnes of baby food, 102 tonnes of dried fish, 50000 raincoats and 50000 pairs of gum boots. This relief material specifically addresses the needs of Rohingya women and children in the wake of onset of monsoon. It is to be noted that nearly 600000 Rohingyas fled Myanmar’s violence-hit Rakhine state to neighbouring Bangladesh since August 2017 post a military crackdown against alleged militant outfits of Rohingya Muslims. Earlier also, in September 2017, India had sent relief materials for 300000 Rohingyas under ‘Operation Insaniyat’. 2 India, Panama sign two agreements India and Panama have signed two agreements on exemption of Visas for holders of Diplomatic and Official Passports and in the field of Agriculture. These agreements were signed in the presence of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and President of Panama Juan Carlos Varela Rodrigues and Vice President and Foreign Minister Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado in Panama city. 3 National News Ram Nath Kovind becomes second president to visit Siachen base camp On 10th May 2018, Ram Nath Kovind became the second president of India to visit Indian Army’s Siachen base camp. President Ram Nath Kovind is also the Supreme Commander of Indian armed forces. Siachen base camp is also known as the “Third Pole”where temperatures drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius sometimes. He was accompanied by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. Ram Nath Kovind paid his respects at the Siachen war memorial to the martyrs. Nearly 11,000 army personnel have sacrificed their lives since the army began Operation Meghdoot on 13th April 1984 in Siachen. Ram Nath Kovind is the second Indian president to visit Siachen base camp. Former president APJ Abdul Kalam is the first Indian President who visited Siachen base camp in 2004 NITI Aayog to announce top 30 innovations of atal tinkering marathon On 10th May 2018, NITI Aayog will announce the top 30 innovations of Atal Tinkering Marathon in Delhi. Atal Tinkering Labs of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of NITI Aayog, organized an Atal Tinkering Marathon, a six month long national level challenge. It was conducted in six thematic areas: clean energy, water resources, waste management, healthcare, smart mobility and agri-tech. From more than 650 innovations received, top 30 innovations have been selected from various States and Union territories of India. These Top 30 innovations and their prizes will be announced by Rajiv Kumar, Vice- Chairman, NITI Aayog. Govt approves green licence plates for e-vehicles On May 9, 2018, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari stated that government has approved green licence plates bearing numbers in white fonts for private e-vehicles (electronic vehicles). 4 The green licence plates will make it easy to identify electric vehicles for preferential treatment in parking, free entry in congested zones and other proposed benefits like concessional toll. Currently there are four kinds of vehicle number plates in India: white licence plates with numbers in black font for private vehicles, yellow plates with black font for commercial vehicles, black plates with yellow font letters for self-driven rental vehicles and blue plates with white font for Embassies and High Commissions. In a bid to promote electric vehicles in India, government is also contemplating to allow youth in the age bracket of 16-18 years to drive electric scooters and making compulsory for taxi aggregators to have a certain percentage of e-vehicle fleet. Suresh Prabhu inaugurates 6th US-India Aviation summit in Mumbai On May 9, 2018, Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the 6th US- India Aviation Summit. This three-day Summit is being jointly organised by Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). The Summit will serve as a platform for Indian civil aviation agencies and aviation industry representatives, including private sector airlines and airport operators, to identify advanced US technologies and practices, that can support their expansion and modernization efforts. Various sessions focusing on India’s projected aviation growth in next five years, aviation and runway safety, aviation security, technologies for worldwide airspace management and regional connectivity will be held during the course of this summit. India’s civil aviation sector is slated to be third largest market globally by 2020 and, potentially, the largest by 2030. Govt issues orders for extending assistance to sugarcane farmers Central government has issued orders for extending assistance to help sugar mills to clear the dues of sugarcane farmers. The government has decided to provide financial assistance of 5.50 rupees per quintal of cane crushed in sugar season 2017-18 to sugar mills to offset the cost of cane. The assistance shall be paid directly to the farmers on behalf of the mills and be adjusted against the cane price payable due to the farmers against Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) including arrears relating to previous years. 5 The total assistance would be about 1540 crore rupees, which will directly benefit a large number of farmers and will help the sugar mills in a long way in discharging their liabilities on account of cane price dues of farmers. Asia media Summit begins in Delhi Amid growing impact of digitization on media and entertainment industry, a two-days Asia Media Summit began in New Delhi from May 10. The theme of the summit is “Telling Our Stories – Asia and More”. Participation of over 200 foreign delegates representing 39 countries including Pakistan and China and representatives of international organisations including the FAO and UNESCO will be among those participating. The summit, being held in India for the first time, was addressed by Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. 6 State News CM Pema Khandu inaugurates Arunachal’s biggest solar plant On 10th May 2018, Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu inaugurated Arunachal Pradesh’s biggest solar power plant at Energy Awareness Park in Itanagar. The plant has a capacity of 1 MW. It was commissioned on 1st April 2018. Estimated investment for the park is Rs 8.50 crore. The project was implemented by Arunachal Pradesh Energy Development Agency (APEDA). The fully-automatic plant will be able to operate without manpower. Based on weather and solar radiation, power generation starts at 5.30 am and continues till 6 pm. The plant has generated over 1 lakh units of electricity from the start of its commissioning. Pawan Kalyan unfurls world’s largest Indian flag in Telangana On 10th May 2018, Pawan Kalyan, actor and Jana Sena Party founder, unfurled the flag, claimed to be the world’s largest Indian national flag at Hyderabad, Telangana. Pawan Kalyan unfurled the flag to commemorate the first war of the India’s independence that took place in 1857. The flag was 122 feet in length and 183 feet in width. The flag was prepared by an organisation called ‘Vibrants of Kalam’. This flag is claimed to be world’s largest Indian National Flag. Pawan Kalyan administered a national integration pledge to youth who attended the event. Guj-Poland sign MoU on organising independence centenary On 9th May 2018, a MoU was signed between Gujarat government and the Poland government regarding the centenary celebrations to mark independence of Poland in Delhi and other regions of the world. The department of youth and cultural affairs of Gujarat government will be co-organisers for the centenary celebrations. The MoU was signed by Polish ambassador to India Adam Burakowski and principal secretary of youth and cultural affairs department V P Patel. According to the MoU, the Gujarat state government’s cultural affairs department will help Poland in organising and publicising “generations to generations” programme in Delhi and other regions of the world. 7 Himachal Pradesh University to be ‘disabled friendly’: Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) will soon become the first ‘disabled friendly’ varsity in the northern region. The university was spending Rs 40 lakh on various facilities for the disabled students. This will include a separate section of library for the disabled with 13 computers, equipped with talking software and fully accessible web portal. The university community is also sensitized on the issues pertaining to disability. Presently, more than fifty disabled students are studying in the campus, including 12 visually impaired students.