Current Affairs – May 13, 2018 S.No Topic Page Number 1 World News 2 - 3 2 National News 4 - 6 3 State News 7 4 Banking & Economy 8 5 Sports News 9 6 Awards & Honours 10 7 Appointments & Resignation 11 8 Science & Techonology 12 9 Obituaries 13 1 World News China’s first home-built aircraft carrier begins sea trials On 13 May 2018, China’s first domestically developed aircraft carrier began sea trials. The aircraft carrier has not been named yet. It is a 50,000-metric tonne vessel. It started off from a shipyard of Dalian Shipbuilding Industry in Liaoning province. This vessel will become China’s second aircraft carrier. China commissioned its first carrier the Liaoning in 2012. This trial aims to demonstrate the reliability and capability of the ship’s propulsion systems. The carrier was launched in 2017. It has been undergoing fitting of weapons and other systems. It has not yet entered service. The new vessel will focus on conducting combat-ready patrols and safeguarding China’s maritime sovereignty and interests. China has developed a new jet fighter named A J-15 fighter to operate from the decks of its carriers. The new carrier has a conventional propulsion system. It will use a ramp to launch J-15 fighter jets. The ship will carry various types of helicopters. The new carrier has over 12,000 pieces of equipment. They were made by 532 Chinese enterprises. The vessel has nearly 3,600 cabins. PM Narendra Modi’s Nepal Visit – Overview Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on an official visit to Nepal on 11 and 12 May, 2018. This was PM Modi’s third visit to Nepal and the first high-level visit from India since the formation of the new Government in Nepal this year. On May 11, 2018, PM Modi Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Oli jointly inaugurated a direct bus service between Janakpur (in Dhanusa District of Nepal) and Ayodhya (in Uttar Pradesh). On May 11, 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Oli jointly laid the foundation stone of the 900-megawatt Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant in Tumlingtar area in eastern Nepal. On May 11, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Foreign Minister of Nepal, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali. 2 China seeks to reset ties with Japan After engaging with India in Wuhan, China is rebooting ties with Japan, as part of a larger pan-Asian initiative that appears to counter growing protectionism in the U.S. Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang has concluded a major two-stage visit to Japan earlier this week. That included talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, following a trilateral meeting, in which South Korean President Moon Jae-in also participated. 3 National News Pradhan, UAE minister flag off first consignment of ADNOC crude for India On May 12, 2018, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and UAE Minister of State& Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Group CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber flagged off first consignment of 2 million barrels of ADNOC crude for India. In February 2018, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to UAE, an agreement was signed between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) and ADNOC of UAE, under which ADNOC will store about 5.86 million barrels of crude oil in India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) facility at Mangalore at its own cost. It is to be noted that ISPRL has built 39 million barrels strategic crude oil storage facility at three locations in India viz. Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Mangalore (Karnataka) and Padur (Kerala). As per the ISPR-ADNOC agreement, ADNOC can sell part of the crude oil stored, to Indian refineries on commercial basis and a certain portion of the storage will be for exclusive use of the Indian government. Mr. Pradhan is on an official visit to United Arab Emirates (UAE). During the course of this visit, he held bilateral meeting with Mr. Jaber to discuss the ongoing cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector and explored ways to further enhance the engagement. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to establish a dedicated web portal for promotion of Audio Visual Services in India The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will set up a dedicated web portal for spreading information on filming locations and production facilities available in India. The portal will be of great help to production companies looking to shoot in India to obtain permissions and explore locations in India. It will aid in acceptance of the application for shooting feature films, TV and web reality shows, along with the online payments. It will offer information on locations and link to all state portals. It will capture detailed information related to a particular location, resources or facilities available in a standard format. 4 Shri J P Nadda holds high level review meeting on Vector Borne diseases in Delhi On 12 May 2018, J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare chaired a high level meeting to review the preparedness of various agencies for prevention and management of vector borne diseases, in New Delhi. J P Nadda asked the agencies to develop a separate registry for cases originating and being treated in Delhi. He said to focus on active case finding for source identification and reduction of vectors and transmission. He added that there should be no shortage of diagnostic kits, drugs, testing labs, manpower and funds. He highlighted the importance of conducting focused and intensive IEC (Information, Education & Communication) campaigns and continuing them through the monsoon season. He directed the officers to perform supervisory visits to various hospitals in Delhi to assess the situation, preparedness and to offer on the spot technical guidance to the health authorities. Domestic Violence Act for divorced women too A three-judge Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, R. Banumathi and Naveen Sinha confirmed a Rajasthan High Court ruling of 2013 that the term ‘domestic violence’ cannot be restrained to marital relations alone it extends to all man-woman relationships, and also protects divorced women from their former husbands, the Supreme Court has upheld. The Enforcement Directorate has initiated a probe into alleged irregularities in the procurement of 111 aircraft worth about Rs. 70,000 crore by Air India The Enforcement Directorate has initiated a probe into alleged irregularities in the procurement of 111 aircraft worth about Rs.70,000 crore, leasing of planes and the surrender of profit-making routes and flight schedules by Air India under the UPA regime. The agency is currently examining the processes that were adopted in finalising the respective contracts and their implementation; besides the decisions taken for the surrender of profit-making routes and schedules, to the alleged benefit of private airlines. 5 Six-month jail likely for abandoning parents The Narendra Modi government is planning to increase the jail term for those who abandon or abuse their elderly parents to six months from the existing three months, according to a senior official. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which is reviewing the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, has also proposed to widen the definition of children to include adopted children or stepchildren, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, grandchildren and minors represented by their legal guardians, a Ministry official said. Passport office employees launch ‘Gandhian’ protest Expressing concern over the workload at passport offices, members of the All-India Passport Employees’ Association (AIPEA) on Saturday launched what they called a ‘Gandhian’ protest. A group of employees gathered at the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Bhikaji Cama Place to work on their day off as a symbolic protest, but were prevented from doing so following an official circular that warned them of disciplinary action. President Kovind pays floral tributes to former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on his birth anniversary The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, paid homage to Shri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, former President of India on his Birth Anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (May 13, 2018). Ahmed was the fifth President of the country and also the second President to die in office. 6 State News Manipur to get air dispensary on May 15 Air dispensary services will be launched on May 15, said chief minister Nongthombam Biren Singh today speaking at the annual state level tribal cultural festival at TRI, Chingmeirong. He announced that the services will be in 75:25 basis from central government and state government’s directives it will be under Udan service of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Five places have been chosen including Henglep, Moreh, Tamenglong and Jiribam and in regard to this, helipad upgradation work has already been started, he further informed. Rajasthan govt invites Gurjar leader for talks ahead of quota stir The Rajasthan government has invited Gurjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla for talks tomorrow, after he threatened to revive the agitation for reservation to the community. Bainsla has announced a sit-in on Tuesday to press for their demand of five-per-cent reservation within the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota. A faction of the community, opposed to Bainsla, is also planning to hold a separate meeting in Bharatpur district on the same day. Madhya Pradesh to be declared ODF by October this year: CM The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that the State will be declared as open defecation free (ODF) by Gandhi Jayanti this year. This will mean that the State will become ODF one year before the national timeline of October 2nd, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. 7 Banking & Economy Fino Payments Bank launches digital suite In a bid to expand its footprint in the digital banking and payments space, Fino Payments Bank has launched a The suite includes BPay app, which was launched in September 2017 for digital transition of customers from assisted to self-service mode.