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INDIAN AFFAIRS
President Ram Nath Kovind launches welfare schemes in Rajasthan
President Ram Nath Kovind was on an official visit to Rajasthan on 13th and 14th May, 2018. This was President Kovind’s first trip to Rajasthan as head of the nation.
Details about three schemes:
i. On May 13, 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind launched Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Antyoday Swarojgar Yojana, Sundar Singh Bhandari EBC (economically backward class) Swarojgar Yojana and Rin Maufi Yojna of Rajasthan State Government.
ii. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Antyoday Swarojgar Yojana: loans of up to Rs 50000 on 4% cent interest will be given to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) families for self-employment.
iii. Sundar Singh Bhandari EBC (economically backward class) Swarojgar Yojana: a loan of Rs 50000 on 4% interest will be given to economically backward families of the general category.
iv. Rin Maufi Yojna: loan waiver scheme of up to Rs 50000 to SC, ST, OBC, sweepers and ‘divyang’.
Quick Facts about Rajasthan:
♦ Capital – Jaipur
♦ Current Governor – Kalyan Singh
♦ Current Chief Minister – Vasundhra Raje
♦ Important National Park – Ranthambore National Park
Cabinet reshuffle: Piyush Goyal to take over finance ministry, Smriti Irani moved out of I&B
On 14th May 2018, the Union government announced a cabinet reshuffle.
Cabinet reshuffle:
i. Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal has been given the additional portfolios of Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs. He will hold this portfolio till Arun Jaitley recovers from the kidney transplant he underwent recently.
ii. Smirti Irani has been moved out of Ministry of Information and Broadcast (I&B). Now she will only be responsible for the textile ministry.
iii. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has been given independent charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
iv. SS Ahluwalia has been made the new Minister of State for and Information Technology. He has been relieved from his Minister of State position of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
v. Alphons Kannanthanam, has been relieved from Minister of State position in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Some important international boundary lines:
♦ Line of Control : India and Pakistan
♦ Durand Line : Afghanistan and Pakistan
♦ Radcliffe Line : India and Pakistan (its includes Bangladesh Line)
Government issues National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy
On 14th May 2018, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy issued National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy.
National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy:
i. The objective of National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy is to offer a framework for promotion of large grid connected wind-solar PV hybrid system for efficient usage of transmission infrastructure and land.
ii. It also aims to reduce the variability in renewable power generation and to achieve better grid stability.
iii. It offers integration of both wind and solar at AC and DC level. It offers flexibility in share of wind and solar components in hybrid project, subject to one condition that, rated power capacity of one resource should be at least 25 % of the rated power capacity of other resource for it to be recognised hybrid project.
iv. It will promote new hybrid projects and hybridisation of existing wind/solar projects.
v. The existing wind/solar projects can be hybridised with higher transmission capacity than the sanctioned one, subject to availability of margin in the existing transmission capacity.
vi. The Policy offers procurement of power from a hybrid project on tariff based transparent bidding process for which Government entities can invite bids.
v. It permits use of battery storage in the hybrid project to optimise the output and reduce the variability.
vi. It mandates regulatory authorities to set necessary standards and regulations for wind-solar hybrid systems.
About Ministry of New and Renewable Energy:
♦ Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy – Raj Kumar Singh
♦ Purpose – to develop and deploy new and renewable energy for supplementing the energy requirements of India
Shri Manoj Sinha flags off Darbhanga-Jalandhar City Antyodaya Express
On 15th May 2018, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Communications and Minister of State of Railways, Manoj Sinhaflagged off Antyodaya train named 22551/22552 Darbhanga-Jalandhar City Antyodaya Express (Weekly).
Shri Manoj Sinha flags off Darbhanga-Jalandhar City Antyodaya Express:
i. Manoj Sinha flagged off the train through video conferencing from Rail Bhawan, New Delhi.
ii. He said that, this Antyodaya Train will make commuting easy for those who travel from Bihar to Punjab. This train is equipped with facilities like Bio-toilets, mobile charging etc.
Nick names of Some Indian cities:
♦ Nainital (Uttarkhand) – City of Lakes
♦ Mussorie (Uttarakhand) – Hill Queen City
♦ Kollam (Kerala) – Cashew Capital of the World, Prince of Arabian Sea
Smt Smriti Irani Chairs Meeting of Stakeholders on ‘Samarth’- Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector
On 14th May, a meeting on the the Samarth scheme was held in New Delhi . The meeting was chaired by Union Textile minister Smt Smriti Zubin Irani.
It was attended by the senior officials of the Textiles Ministry, institutions and organizations under it, representatives of textile industry, State Governments, training institutions among others. Minister of State for Textiles, Shri Ajay Tamta and Secretary, Textiles, Shri Anant Kumar Singh also addressed the stakeholders.
Key points:
i. The aim of the meeting was to familiarize the stakeholders with the objective and functioning of the scheme.
ii. The various challengesfaced by the stakeholders from the previous scheme were also addressed and the feedbacks on the concerned potential and benefits of the scheme to the betterment of textile sector were also discussed.
iii. The main objective of the scheme being to provide skill training to the youth for gainful and sustainable employment in the textile sectorexcluding spinning and weaving.
Samarth Scheme:
Inaugurated on 20th December 2017, the scheme intends to provide demand driven placement and sustainable employment of the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) under the Skill India Mission and to create jobs in the textile sector. The scheme targets to train 10 lakh persons (9 lakh in organised and 1 lakh in traditional sector) over a period of 3 years (2017-20), with an outlay of Rs. 1300 crore. The guidelines of the scheme were released on 23rd of April 2018.
NALCO inks MoU with Government of India, setting highest ever target
Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has signed MoU with Union Ministry of Mines, setting highest ever target of Rs 9350 crore revenue for financial year 2018-19.
Details about the MoU:
i. NALCO’s revenue target of Rs 9350 crore marks a 15% increment over previous year.
ii. In terms of production, target for production of Alumina has been set at 2.1 million tons and for Aluminium production it is 4.15 lakh tonnes.
iii. During 2018-19, NALCO will be incurring capital expenditure of Rs.1100 crore, mainly on projects like the 1 million tonne 5th stream of Refinery, wind power projects and modernization & up- gradation of plant equipments.
Quick Facts about NALCO:
♦ Incorporated in – 1981
♦ Headquarters – Bhubaneswar, Odisha
♦ CMD – Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand
Roll out of e-Way Bill system for intra-State movement of goods in Assam & Rajasthan
Union Finance Ministry has announced that E-way bill system for intra-state movement of goods valued over Rs 50000 would be rolled out in Assam from May 16, 2018 and in Rajasthan from May 20, 2018.
Roll out of Intra-state e-way bill system:
i. In context of this news, it is important to note that E-way bill system for moving goods worth over Rs 50000 from one state to another has already been rolled out since April 1, 2018.
ii. The same for intra or within the state movement has been rolled out in phased manner and so far 18 states, including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar have made e-way bill mandatory for intra-state movement of goods.
iii. Till May 13, 2018 more than 4.15 crore e-way bills have been generated, which includes more than 1 crore e-way bills for intra-state movement of goods.
Highlights of first apex conference for Smart City CEOs, held in Bhopal
First apex conference for Smart City CEOs was held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 8th and 9th May, 2018.
First apex conference for Smart City CEOs:
i. The conference was inaugurated by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing & Urban Affairs, Hardeep Puri.
ii. The conference served as a platform to share knowledge and best practices among city leaders and various stakeholders in the Smart Cities Mission.
iii. Agence Française de Développement (AFD’s) programme to fund Smart City projects was also launched during the conference.
iv. Under this programme, Euro 100 million will be provided to 30- 80 selected projects (selected through a challenge) and Euro 6 million will be available for technical support.
v. Detailed panel discussions focusing on various themes, were also held during this two-day conference.
vi. The conference also focused on implementing Smart City Centres, Area Based Developments, Human Resources and Future Roadmap.
NTPC inks pact to acquire 3 projects in Bihar
In a bid to pursue the objective of acquiring state-owned generation units across the country, on May 15, 2018, NTPC inked acquisition pact with Bihar and its power utilities.
Projects in Bihar to be acquired by NTPC:
i. As per the terms of MoU, Barauni Thermal Power Station will be transferred to NTPC and Bihar State Power Generation Co. Ltd. (BSPGCL’s) 27.36 per cent equity in Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Ltd (KBUNL) and 50 per cent equity in Nabinagar Power Generating Company will also be transferred to NTPC.
ii. As NTPC and BSPGCL own 72.64 per cent and 27.36 per cent equity holding in KBUNL and Nabinagar Power Generating Company (NPGC) is a 50:50 JV of NTPC and BSPGCL, post this transaction, Barauni plant will become part of NTPC portfolio and KBUNL and NPGC will become wholly-owned subsidiaries of NTPC.
Eco-tourism initiatives in rural belt of Assam
Shikdamakha, one of the cleanest villages in Assam, along with its neighbouring hamlets – Bormarjong, Maulen, Amsai, Langarkhon has taken an initiative to create a rural tourism model.
Eco-tourism initiative in Assam:
i. This initiative is aimed at creating livelihood opportunities for local people.
ii. It is supported by Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, and an NGO named Root Bridge Foundation, which is making a detailed plan for the development of the villages with participation of local youths and students of Tezpur University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Guwahati University.
First all-woman Post Office Passport Seva Kendra starts operations in Phagwara, Punjab
On 14th May 2018, the first Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) that is run by an all-woman team began operations in Phagwara, Punjab.
First all-woman Post Office Passport Seva Kendra starts operations:
i. The POPSK was inaugurated by Union Minister Vijay Sampla in the local head Post Office.
ii. It is the 192nd POPSK in India. But it is the first POPSK to be operated by an all-woman team.
iii. The Phagwara Kendra will be headed by department’s Verification Officer Madhuri Bhavi. The other two women staff members – Postal Assistants will be from the Post Office Department.
iv. The printing and issuing of passports will be handled by Jalandhar office. Currently, 50 applications will be received and processed daily in the Phagwara POPSK.
v. This POPSK will offer its services to Kapurthala, Nawandhar and Jalandhar rural districts.
Some museums in Punjab:
♦ Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (National Institute of Sports) – Patiala
♦ Sanghol Museum – Sanghol
♦ Sikh Ajaibghar – Balongi
Two day Regional Conference on “Physical and Social Infrastructure for Regional Development” begins in Guwahati
On 14th May, the Governor of Assam , Prof. Jagdish Mukhi inaugurated the two day regional conference on “Physical and Social Infrastructure for Regional Development” in Guwahati, Assam. This conference was organized by Ministry of Finance, Government of India in association with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) , Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) and FICCI.
This is aimed to bridge the regional disparity through investment in physical and soft infrastructure .
Key points:
i. The Theme of the conference is ‘Physical and Social Infrastructure for Regional Development’.
ii. Since Assam is at the heart of Centre’s Act Easy Policyand it is at close proximity to the neighboring south Asian countries, the focus on investment for thephysical infrastruce will enable better communication with the remote areas and the social infrastructure will be enhanced by providing good health care services and education.
iii. Taking into account the potential of the huge female labour force and the challenges being faced various policies are to be made for the betterment of the North East region. AIIB’s “lean and green policy”, govt’s HIRA (highways , Internet, Railways and Airways) policy and govt’s “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” are the few sought out policies that need to be implemented for the inclusive growth of the are
iv. After the conference a session regarding the topic “Infrastructure needs in Aspirational Areas”was organized and the presentation was headed by Prof. Sebastian Morrisfrom Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.
AIIB:
♦ Headquarter: Beijing , China.
♦ Head of Communications: Miss Laurel Ostfield.
♦ Chairman: Jin Liquin.
Indian Army Women Officers’ Mountaineering Expedition to Mt. Bhagirathi-II
On 14th May 2018, Indian Army Women Officers’ Mountaineering Expedition to Mt. Bhagirathi-II (6512 metres) comprising 9 women officers, was flagged off by Director General of Military Training.
Indian Army Women Officers’ Mountaineering Expedition to Mt. Bhagirathi-II:
i. This expedition is held from 14 May to 11 June 2018. The team has also planned to create a new world record of practicing Yoga at 21000 feet on Yoga Day 2018.
ii. This expedition aims to encourage women in the field of adventure. Mt. Bhagirathi-II is located in the Garhwal Himalayas in Gangotri National Park.
iii. The peak rises right above the Gangotri glacier. The summit poses challenges to climbers due to technical requirements, vertical ascents, inclement and unpredictable weather conditions.
About Indian Army:
♦ Headquarters – New Delhi
♦ Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) – General Bipin Rawat
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India 3rd largest solar market in world: Mercom
As per a report by Mercom Communications India, India emerged as the third largest solar market in the world in 2017 behind China and the US.
Solar Energy market in India:
i. In 2017, India set a new record with 9.6 GW of solar installations, which was more than double the 4.3 GW installed in 2016.
ii. On account of this stellar growth, India’s total solar installed capacity reached 19.6 GW as of December 2017.
iii. Out of the 19.6 GW installation, 92% is on account of large-scale project development.
iv. Mercom Communications India is the Indian subsidiary of Mercom Capital Group, a global clean energy consulting firm.
BANKING & FINANCE
RBI puts deposit, lending restrictions on Allahabad Bank
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has placed additional restrictions on Allahabad Bank, which is under prompt corrective action (PCA) since January 2018.
Lending restrictions on Allahabad Bank:
i. RBI has debarred Allahabad bank from high-risk lending and has advised to reduce exposure to unrated and high-risk advances.
ii. Allahabad Bank has also been restricted by RBI from creating non-banking assets and accessing or renewing wholesale or costly deposits or certificate of deposits.
iii. These actions have been suggested by RBI by considering Allahabad Bank’s Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR) and leverage ratio positions.
iv. Allahabad Bank is the second lender (after Dena Bank) among the 11 banks under prompt corrective action (PCA) that has been restricted by the RBI from lending to risky assets.
Quick Facts about Allahabad Bank:
♦ Founded in – 1865
♦ Headquarters – Kolkata, West Bengal
♦ Current MD & CEO – Usha Ananthasubramanian
♦ Tagline – ‘A Tradition of Trust’
World Bank agrees to a grant for Bangladesh
World Bank (WB) has finally agreed to provide a grant to Bangladesh for meeting the basic needs of around one million Rohingyas who fled their homeland Myanmar.
World Bank grant to Bangladesh for Rohingyas:
i. Bangladesh had asked World Bank’s assistance for this cause in October 2017. At that time, WB offered to provide a mix of soft loans and grant. However, Bangladesh refused to take loans.
ii. World Bank has now agreed to extend the grant as considering the case of Rohingyas as “exceptional”.
iii. WB, which has dealt with similar refugee crisis in Venezuela, Turkey and some other African countries has stated that grant provided to Bangladesh should be entirely spent for Rohingyas only.
Quick Facts about World Bank:
♦ Formed in – 1945
♦ Headquarters – Washington D.C., US
♦ Current President – Jim Yong Kim
Paytm introduced automatic recurring payments
On May 14, 2018, Paytm introduced ‘My Payments’, an automatic recurring payments feature that lets users of Paytm app to pay for periodic recurring expenses automatically.
Automatic recurring payments feature of Paytm:
i. This feature is similar to standing instructions for bank accounts, that can be used for high-value payments for a variety of cases such as house rent, maid/driver’s salary, milk or newspaper vendor payments online.
ii. It is expected that ‘My Payments’ feature will significantly boost bank-to-bank transactions on Paytm.
iii. It is to be noted that Paytm processes about 1 billion transactions every quarter.
Quick Facts about Paytm:
♦ Founded in – 2010
♦ Headquarters – Noida, Uttar Pradesh
YES Bank launches Agenda 25×25 for budding women entrepreneurs in India
Private sector bank, Yes Bank and its think tank YES Global Institute have launched ‘Agenda 25×25’, aimed at creating a synergetic startup environment for budding women entrepreneurs in India.
About Yes Bank’s ‘Agenda 25×25’:
i. This initiative was launched at YES Bank – YES Global Institute Annual Startup Conclave hosted in partnership with NITI Aayog, Invest India, Startup India and Atal Innovation Mission.
ii. ’Agenda 25X25’ is geared towards ensuring that by 2025, at least 25% of all entrepreneurs in India are women.
iii. A study by YES Bank-YES Global Institute, titled ‘Putting Women First: Building the Start-up Ecosystem Ground Up’ emphasised on the need to build a 10 Step Developmental Model focused on empowering women innovators, synergizing collaborations, catalyzing investments and increasing economic opportunities.
Quick Facts about Yes Bank:
♦ Founded in – 2004
♦ Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
♦ Current MD & CEO – Rana Kapoor
♦ Tagline – ‘Experience our Expertise’
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Indian army finalises Rs. 15000 cr indegineous ammunition project
On 14th May, the Indian army Chief General Bipin Rawat announced that the Indian Army has bagged a finalized a deal amounting to Rs. 15000 cr for indeginously produced ammunition project consisting of critical weapons and tanks .
Considering the evolving security threats this proposal was long overdue.
Key points of the project
i. The over all cost of project is Rs. 15000 crorewith a specific target of 10 years
ii. As many as 11 private firmshave been involved in the project and it is being monitored by the top brass of Army and Defence Ministry.
iii. The ammunition project includes a range of rockets, air defence system, artillery guns, infantry combat vehicles, grenade launchers and various other field weapon
iv. The objective of this project is to create an inventory of major weapons that would suffice during a 30-day war scenario. And the long term aimis to cut down ondefence imports.
Indian Army :
♦ Chief General of Army staff: Gn. Bipin Rawat.
♦ Indian army is considered to be the world’s second largest standing army.
ITR-2 launched on e-filing portal; total 3 ITRs available now
On May 15, 2018, Income Tax Department launched the ITR-2, the third income return form for assessment year 2018-19, on the official e-filing portal.
More information about Income Return Forms:
i. ITR-2 is for individuals, Hindu Undivided families (HUFs) and NRIs who have income from any sources except income from profits and gains of business or profession.
ii. With this, a total of three Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have now been activated by Income Tax Department viz. ITR-1 (Sahaj), ITR-4 and ITR-2.
iii. ITR-1 is primarily for salaried class of taxpayers with income up to Rs 50 lakh from salary while ITR-4 is for professionals and self-employed individuals who have opted for the presumptive income scheme.
iv. Four more ITRs will be activated as per Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notification on April 5, 2018.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
DRDO Awards – 2016 & 2017 Presented by Defence Minister
On May 14, 2018, Union Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman gave away the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Awards- 2016 & 2017 to various DRDO scientists for their outstanding contributions.
Winners of DRDO Awards – 2016 & 2017:
i. Former Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and Director General, DRDO Dr V K Saraswat was presented DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award – 2017, while former Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and Director General, DRDO Dr Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre was presented DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award – 2016.
ii. Other awardees included distinguished Scientist & Director General (Missiles & Strategic Systems) Dr G Satheesh Reddy for Technology Leadership Award – 2016.
iii. During the award function, Chairman of DRDO Dr S Christopher e-launched the ‘Navrachna’ (innovation) implementation programme.
Quick facts about DRDO:
♦ Formed in – 1958
♦ Headquarters – New Delhi
♦ Current Chairman – S Christopher
Anindita honoured with Jayadev Rastriya Yuva Puraskar award
On 14th May 2018, Anindita Anaam, a US-based Kathak dancer, was presented the ‘Shri Jayadev Rastriya Yuva Pratibha Puraskar 2018’, at the ‘Jayadev International Dance Festival’ in Bhubaneswar.
Shri Jayadev Rastriya Yuva Pratibha Puraskar 2018:
i. Anindita Anaam was awarded for her remarkable contribution to art. The ‘Jayadev International Dance Festival’ is held for 4 days. Is started on 13th May 2018.
ii. It has is organised under the control of Odisha’s culture department and National Culture Mission.
iii. Anindita Anaam is a Kathak instructor in Wisconsin, United States. She is trained in both Jaipur and Lucknow gharanas.
Some important dams in India:
♦ Cheruthoni (Eb) Dam – Cheruthoni River
♦ Pong Dam – Beas River
♦ Jamrani Dam – Gola River
Veteran journalist Mark Tully bags RedInk Award
British journalist and former BBC India correspondent Sir William Mark Tully has been selected for this year’s RedInk award for lifetime achievement in journalism.
Veteran journalist Mark Tully bags RedInk Award:
i. The RedInk awards for excellence in journalism are instituted by the Mumbai Press Club.
ii. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu will present the award to Sir William Mark Tully on 18th May 2018 in Mumbai.
iii. The award is presented to Sir William Mark Tully in recognition of his contribution to Indian journalism.
iv. Sir William Mark Tully worked with the BBC for 30 years. He was also the Chief of Bureau, BBC, Delhi.
v. Faye D’Souze, executive editor of Mirror Now channel, has been chosen for the RedInk award for ‘journalist of the year’.
vi. Apart from these two awards, Redink awards for excellence in journalism are awarded in 13 categories to 32 journalists.
Tag lines of some banks:
♦ Union Bank of India – Good people to bank with
♦ United Bank of India – The Bank that begins with “U”
♦ Vijaya Bank – A Friend You Can Bank On
Sulabh International founder Dr Bindeshwar Pathak honoured with Nikkei Asia Prize
Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of Sulabh International, has been chosen for the Nikkei Asia Prize in Japan for his contribution to the development of Asia.
Dr Bindeshwar Pathak – Nikkei Asia Prize:
i. Dr Bindeshwar Pathak is one among the three persons who have been selected for the award. The prizes will be awarded on 13th June 2018 in Tokyo, Japan.
ii. Nikkei Inc., is one of the largest media corporations in Japan. It has been presenting the awards since 1996.
iii. It honours people in Asia who have made remarkable contributions in: Economic and Business Innovation, Science, Technology and Environment and Culture and Community.
iv. The Sulabh International foundation has built Sulabh flush composting toilets all over India, which has helped in providing better sanitation, safety for rural women and freedom from the manual labour of removing human waste.
About Sulabh International:
♦ Founder – Dr Bindeshwar Pathak
♦ Founded – 1970
♦ Type – NGO (Non-governmental organization)
♦ Purpose – to promote human rights, environmental sanitation and other social services
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
Netmeds appoints MS Dhoni as brand ambassador
On 15th May 2018, Netmeds said that, it has appointed Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador.
MS Dhoni – Netmeds brand ambassador:
i. Netmeds CEO Pradeep Dadha said that, the company wants people to know that it intends to be a team member to help fight Chronic diseases.
ii. Netmeds is promoted by Dadha family. At present it has an inventory of 35,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) of prescription drugs and 5,000 SKUs of OTC (Over-The-Counter) products.
About Netmeds:
♦ CEO – Pradeep Dadha
♦ Business – online pharmacy
SPORTS
Heena bags gold in 10m air pistol in Hannover
On 13th May 2018, India’s Heena Sidhu won a gold medal in the 10m air pistol category at the International Shooting Competitions of Hannover (ISCH).
Heena bags gold in10m air pistol in Hannover:
i. In the final, Heena Sidhu was tied with France’s Mathilde Lamolle on 239.8 points. Heena Sidhu won the tie and secured the gold medal.
ii. India’s Shri Nivetha won a bronze medal with a score of 219.2.
About ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation):
♦ Headquarters – Munich, Germany
♦ President – Olegario Vázquez Raña
Lewis Hamilton wins Spanish Grand Prix to stretch lead in F1 title race
On 14th May, Mercedes and british driver Lewis Hamilton won the Spanish Grand Prix thus crowning himself with the Formula One’s season title.
- Valtteri Bottasof Mercedes ranked second .
- Max Verstappenof Red Bull ranked third .
- Sebastian Vettelranked fourth.
With this win Lewis Hamilton(with a total of 95 points) joins Mika Hakkinen and Michel Schumacher on the list of people who have won three grand prix at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Formula One:
It is a high class professional single-seater auto racing sports league consisting of 20 drivers where renowned racing cars and engine suppliers like Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Honda participate . A season of Formula One race consists of a series of grand prix held worldwide on circuit and public roads. This season was held in Barcelona, Spain.
Neymar named France’s player of the year
On 15th May, the Paris saint-Germain’s brazilian forward footballer Neymar was named France’s player of the Year at an award ceremony in Paris. He received his award from former Brazilian international player Ronaldo as a part of 27th UNFP (French National Professional Football Players Union) trophy Ceremony.
i. He is considered to be the world’s most expensive player with a score of 19 goals in 20 leagues for PSG games before suffering from a foot injury that needed surgery.
ii. He is hoping to be back to full fitness in time to lead Brazil at the World Cup in Russia, which starts in a month’s time.
FIFA World Cup:
2018: Russia.
2022: Qatar.
UNFP awards 2018:
UNFP manager of the year award: Unai Emery.
UNFP Young Player of the Year award: Kylian Mbappa.
UNFP Goalkeeper : Steve Mandanda.
OBITUARY
Poet-politician Balkavi Bairagi passes away
On 15th May, noted poet and politician Mr. Balkavi Bairagi passed away at 87 years in Madhya Pradesh.
His full name was Nand Ramdas Balkavi Bairagi.
i. He was a well known person in poetry , politics and cinema .Known for his several compelling and crowd-pulling dramatic style, he wrote many poems for children including Jhar gaye paat, bisar gayi tehni(The leaves have fallen, the branch has forgotten) was one of his acclaimed poems. He also penned lyrics for many hindi films .
ii. He was a congressmanand won 1968 state assembly elections in Manasa, west Madhya Pradesh. He also won the Lok Sabha elections in 1984 and was a Rajya Sabha member from 1998 to 2004.
IMPORTANT DAYS
International Day of the Families
On 15th May 2018, International Day of the Families was observed all over the world.
International Day of the Families:
i. When: In 1993, UN General Assembly declared that 15 May of every year should be celebrated as International Day of Families.
ii. Why: The International Day of Families offers an opportunity to promote awareness of issues related to families and to improve the knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.
iii. Workshops, conferences, radio and television programmes, newspaper articles and cultural programmes are conducted to celebrate this day.
iv. The theme for International Day of Families 2018: “Families and inclusive societies”.
Some important sea ports in India:
♦ Haldia Port – West Bengal
♦ Tuticorin Port – Tamil Nadu
♦ Kandla Port – Gujarat
