EVENING NEWS DIGEST: 29 MAY 2018

MOUNT DEOTIBBA EXPEDITION-2018 • All women high altitude expedition to Mount Deotibba (6001 Mtrs) which is located in Himachal Pradesh, has been organised by the Indian Navy from 28 May to 15 Jun 2018. • The expedition will be flagged off by Vice Admiral AK Chawla, AVSM, NM, VSM, Chief of Personnel on 28 May 2018 from New Delhi. • Lieutenant Commander Kokila Sajwan will be leading the team which comprises of 15 members including two base camp support staff. • The Service had previously launched the first successful expedition to Everest in 1965 and has been to the South & North poles in 2006 and 2008 respectively. • With culmination of Sagar-Parikarma, the circumnavigation around the globe by All Women Navy Team, Indian Navy seeks to achieve a similar feat on land by organising an ‘All Women Expedition to Mt Deotibba as a launch pad for scaling higher peaks including Everest in near future.

PAKISTAN APPOINTS NASIR UL MULK AS INTERIM PRIME MINISTER • Former chief justice Nasir-ul-Mulk has been named Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister to oversee the general election scheduled for July 25. • Pakistan is set to hold a general election on July 25 to choose representatives for the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies. The tenure of the present government ends on May 31. • Nasir-ul-Mulk was made the 22nd chief justice of Pakistan in 2014. He belongs to Mingora town in Swat. • He is remembered for the way he conducted a contempt case against then prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

NEERI COMES UP WITH IDEA TO CLEAN GARBAGE IN LAKES • The Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has come up with a novel idea to clean the garbage dumped in lakes. • The NEERI method is based on floating cycle, which gathers garbage while moving around in the water body. • The cycle is equipped with a propeller and paddle wheel at the back churns water providing aeration for the water body, thus increasing the dissolved oxygen level.

EVENING NEWS DIGEST: 29 MAY 2018 • The first demonstration was given to clean the skimming debris of the Futala Lake in Nagpur. The lake is spread over 60 acres. Built by Bhosle kings of Nagpur, the lake is known for its coloured fountains. • The CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) is a research institute created and funded by Government of India • It was established in Nagpur in 1958 and has five zonal laboratories at Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.

TN GOVT. ORDERS CLOSURE OF STERLITE COPPER PLANT IN THOOTHUKUDI

• The Tamil Nadu government ordered the closure of the Sterlite Copper factory in Thoothukudi, • The government order endorsed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s directive last week to close the unit citing constitutional provisions to “protect and improve the environment,” and “in larger public interest.” • It a significant setback for the Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta which is at the centre of a violent agitation led by residents who claim the smelter has caused widespread pollution of air and water in the southern city. • Sterlite Copper is a unit of Vedanta Ltd which operates a 400,000-tonne per annum capacity plant.

VIRAT KOHLI NAMED INTERNATIONAL CRICKETER OF THE YEAR AT CEAT RATINGS AWARDS • India skipper won the International Cricketer of the Year Award at the CEAT Cricket Ratings awards. • India opener Shikhar Dhawan was presented the International Batsman of the Year Award, while New Zealand pace sensation Trent Boult won the International Bowler of the Year Award. • Afghanistan's leg spinner Rashid Khan, who impressed with his skills in Indian Premier League grabbing 21 wickets, was presented with the T20 Bowler of the Year Award. • Eighteen-year-old Shubhman Gill, who made his mark in the U19 World Cup in Australia and the IPL while playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders, was the U19 Player of the Year.

EVENING NEWS DIGEST: 29 MAY 2018 • CEAT Cricket Ratings (CCR) was formed in 1995 in association with Professional Management Group. • Three cricketing legends , and are the members of the Governing Council of the CRR • It is the first International Cricket Rating System to reward and recognize the performances on annual basis.

COCHIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WORLD'S FIRST FULLY SOLAR- ENERGY POWERED AIRPORT: UNEP • The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recognised Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) in Kerala as the world’s first fully solar energy powered Airport. • CIAL is India’s first airport to be constructed in public-private-partnership (PPP) model in 1999. • The airport has a 12 MWp solar power plant comprising of 46,150 solar panels laid across 45 acres. It produces 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity per day.

HIMACHAL GOVT LAUNCHES 'PRAKRITI KHETI KHUSHHAAL KISAAN YOJANA' • In order to encourage 'Zero budget Natural Farming' in the state, a new scheme 'Prakritik Kheti-Khushhal Kisan' was launched in Himachal with a budget provision of Rs. 25 crore. • Under the scheme farmers would be provided training, necessary equipment, bio-pesticides, bio-insecticides, etc. • An allocation of Rs. 25 crores has been made for the Scheme which would encourage organic farming and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers by the farmers in their fields. • The State universities would prepare package of practices for its implementation.

INDIA, US, JAPAN START 22ND MALABAR EXERCISE IN GUAM • India, United States and Japan will deploy their frontline military assets off Guam in the Western Pacific from June 6 to June 15 for wide-ranging naval manoeuvres. Guam is a U.S. island territory in Micronesia, in the Western Pacific. • The at-sea phase is expected to cover areas such as surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, air defence, search and rescue, gunnery operations and submarine familiarization.

EVENING NEWS DIGEST: 29 MAY 2018 • It is a setback for the India-U.S.-Australia-Japan “Quad” in the Indo-Pacific, the government has decided to go ahead with this year’s ‘Malabar’ naval exercises trilaterally without including the Australian Navy. • Originally a bilateral exercise between India and the United States, Japan became a permanent partner in 2015. • Past non-permanent participants are Australia and Singapore. The annual Malabar series began in 1992 and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises.

SUDHA BALKRISHNAN APPOINTED FIRST CFO OF RBI • Sudha Balakrishnan has been appointed the first ever chief financial officer (CFO) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). • Balakrishnan, a chartered accountant, was till recently vice president with the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), India’s first and largest depository. • At the RBI, Balakrishnan will be in charge of the central bank’s balance sheet to ensure accounting policies and procedures comply with regulations. • She will be in charge of the government and bank account department, which processes government transactions like payments and revenue collections such as taxes.

IBRAHIM KASSORY FOFANA SWORN-IN AS PM OF GUINEA • Guinea President Alpha Conde has named Ibrahima Kassory Fofana as the country's new prime minister. • Fofana, a Conde loyalist and former minister of investment and public-private partnerships, replaces Mamady Youla, who resigned along with his government. • Guinea is a country in West Africa, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Conakry.

EVENING NEWS DIGEST: 29 MAY 2018