Current Affairs – May 12, 2018 S.No Topic Page Number 1 Important Days 2 2 World News 3 3 National News 4 - 6 4 State News 7 – 8 5 Banking & Economy 9 6 Sports News 10 7 Awards & Honours 11 8 Appointments & Resignation 12 9 Books & Authors 13 10 Science & Techonology 14 11 Obituaries 15 1 Important Days International Nurses Day On 12th May 2018, International Nurses Day was celebrated all over the world. I nternational Nurses Day is celebrated throughout the world on 12th May every year to mark the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. The International Nurses Day honours the contributions of nurses to society. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) celebrates this day since 1965. The theme for International Nurses Day 2018 was chosen as “Nurses A Voice to Lead – Health is a Human right” by ICN. Indian President Ram Nath Kovind presented Florence Nightingale awards to 35 nurses for their extraordinary services at an event at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. World Migratory Bird Day On 12th May 2018, the World Migratory Bird Day was celebrated throughout the world. The World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated from now on twice a year, on the Second Saturday in May and in October. It will also be observed on 13th October 2018. World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) aims to create awareness on the need for conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. The theme for World Migratory Bird Day 2018 is: “Unifying our Voices for Bird Conservation”. Also 2018 is the “Year of the Bird”. 2 World News US-North Korea summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018 On May 10, 2018, US President Donald Trump announced that he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12, 2018 in Singapore. This will be the first ever meeting between a sitting US president and North Korean leader. Key issue to be discussed during the meeting will be North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme and intercontinental ballistic missile launches which raised geopolitical tensions across the world. Ramayan Circuit’ gets a new bus service Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K.P. Sharma Oli jointly inaugurated a direct bus service between Janakpur and Ayodhya, the two sacred cities for Hindus, as part of a “Ramayan Circuit” to promote religious tourism in Nepal and India. “Janakpur and Ayodhya are being connected. This is a historic moment,” Prime Minister Modi said, inaugurating the bus service, connecting Lord Rama’s birthplace Ayodhya with goddess Sita’s birthplace Janakpur. Modi flagged off the bus after visiting the famed 20th century Janaki temple, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Sita, where he offered special prayers. Nepal to hold BIMSTEC 2018 Nepal will host the 2018 Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit. The BIMSTEC is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and South East Asia, including Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal. 3 National News Customs and Postal Department hold First ever Joint Conference On May 11, 2018, Indian Customs and Department of India Posts held a first ever Joint Conference in New Delhi to discuss measures for streamlining imports and exports by post. The conference was attended by Commissioners of Customs from all the States having Foreign Post Offices (FPOs) and their counterpart Post Master Generals. In context of this news, it is important to note that Imports and exports by post are the 6th highest cited citizen grievances under Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). For catering to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and to provide a boost to the Make in India program, Customs Department has proposed new simplified procedures for exports through India Post. E-commerce giant Amazon and international logistics company DHL have been invited for making presentations on global best practices and identifying bottlenecks faced by Indian exporters. In addition to this, Customs is planning to introduce non-intrusive technologies like x-ray scanning at Foreign Post offices to expedite release of goods. Frozen Semen Station being set up in Maranga, Purnea under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission On May 12, 2018, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh laid foundation stone of the frozen semen station in Maranga, Purnea, Bihar. Frozen semen station in Maranga, Purnea is being set up at a cost of Rs 64 crore (100% contribution from the Central Government) under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission. Launched in 2014, Rashtriya Gokul Mission is geared towards conserving and developing indigenous breeds to increase milk productivity. Frozen semen station in Purnea will be the first state-of-the-art semen production centre in India. The station will have a highly modern bull shade, semen processing lab, feed and godown, agricultural equipment, and other facilities. 300 high genetic merit bulls will be kept at the station and 50 lakh semen dose will be produced per year. 4 J-K govt approves scheme for placement of JKPS officers in higher scale On May 12, 2018, Jammu and Kashmir State Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, approved a notification of the non-functional (monetary) scheme (NFS) and its This scheme seeks placement of Jammu and Kashmir Police Service (JKPS) officers in higher scales. As per the scheme, a junior scale JKPS officer, in the pay band of Rs 9300-34800 with Grade Pay (GP) of Rs. 4800 with 10 years in the junior scale will be eligible for placement in the time scale (non-functional) of Rs. 15600-39100 with GP of Rs 6600 after assessment by the selection committee. Similarly, a time scale JKPS officer with four years service will be eligible for placement in the selection grade-II (non-functional) of Rs 15600-39100 with a grade pay of Rs 7600 after assessment. This scheme shall be effective, retrospectively from January 1, 2018. SC approves scheme to grant compensation to rape & acid attack victims On May 11, 2018, Supreme Court of India approved “Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/other crimes”, a scheme for mandatory grant of compensation to victims of sexual assault and acid attack. Under the scheme, a compensation fund will be set up and it would be managed by State Legal Services Authority (SLSA). Compensation for gangrape victim will be in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh, minimum compensation of Rs. 4 lakh is to be paid in case of rape or unnatural sexual assault while for acid attack victims minimum compensation will be Rs 7 lakh for total disfigurement and Rs 5 lakh in case of 50% burns. Most important feature of the scheme is that, grant of monetary relief is not linked with the trial in such cases and the victim can approach the State or District Legal Services Authority for compensation immediately after the incident. Govt depts earmark rs 16,500 cr for swachh bharat mission in 2018-19 Rs 16,500 crore has been allotted by 71 ministries and departments of the central government for implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2018-19. This amount is over and above the budget of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation for Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). 5 The Swachhata Action Plan (SAP) 2018-19 was released by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha at a meeting of Union secretaries and senior officials on 11th May 2018 in New Delhi. SAP Compendium 2018-19 was also released at the meeting. Dhanush in Cannes to promote ‘The extraordinary journey of the fakir’ After completing the audio launch of superstar Rajinikanth’s ‘Kaala’, produced by Dhanush under his Wunderbar Productions, Dhanush left to attend the Cannes Film Festival 2018 festival to promote his upcoming Hollywood flick ‘The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir’. 6 State News Punjab Signs MoU with UK for Setting Up Bio-Gas, Bio CNG Plants On May 11, 2018, Punjab State Government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with United Kingdom (UK) for setting up of bio-gas and bio- Compressed natural gas (CNG) plants in the state. Parties to the MoU are Punjab Bureau of Industrial Promotion (PBIP), Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) and Rika Biofuels Development Ltd UK, while Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) will facilitate the regulatory clearances. Objective of this MoU is to find viable and sustainable solutions to paddy straw burning, which has become a major environmental concern in Punjab and surrounding region. As per the terms of the MoU, Rika will build more than 10 bio-CNG plants with a total investment of USD 100-150 million. Intake capacity of each plant will be around 100 MT per day. As these plants will be based on a new patented anerobic digester concept and straw extruding technology, it would not only promote sustainable agriculture practices by stopping burning which severely damages the soil but will also promote long-term soil health and improve agricultural yield as digestate/bio manure is rich in organic and inorganic matter. Chhattisgarh CM to launch Vikas Yatra On May 12, 2018, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh launched Vikas Yatra from Dantewada district aimed at spreading awareness about the development the state has witnessed during Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Govt’s tenure in the state. During the course of this Vikas Yatra, Mr. Raman Singh will distribute free pesticides to 5.5 lakh labourers. He will also give smartphones to 50 lakh families under Sanchar Kranti Yojna. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will also be attending the yatra.