Current Affairs Today May 8 2018

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 INDIAN AFFAIRS

Delhi Jal Board (DJB) approves Rs 5137 crore budget for 2018-19
On May 7, 2018, Delhi Jal Board (DJB) approved its Rs 5137-crore annual budget, focusing on expansion of sewage and water supply networks in the uncovered areas.
More information about DJB’s annual budget:
i. Out of Rs. 5137 crore, Rs 2350 crore is for plan and Rs 2787.6 crore is for non-plan expenditures for 2018-19.
ii.  In addition to new sewage lines, old sewer lines will also be replaced in certain areas including south Delhi’s Panchsheel Park and Saket.
iii. Besides, a fund of Rs 102.23 crore has been set aside for repairing peripheral sewers in Uttam Nagar, Moti Nagar and adjoining areas in northwest and west Delhi.
iv. For better water supply, DJB has approved proposals for laying feeder mains and various sizes of distribution mains for underground reservoirs and booster pumping stations in certain areas.
v. Other projects include setting up an altogether new water distribution system and replacing main water pipes in identified areas.
vi. For replacement of peripheral sewer lines, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Delhi has been appointed as the monitoring agency and will be paid Rs 4.71 crore as the consultancy fees.
Quick Facts about Delhi Jal Board (DJB):
♦ Constituted in – 1998
♦ Responsible for – supply of potable water in Delhi and for treatment and disposal of waste water

19th edition of TOONZ Animation Masters Summit 2018
19th edition of TOONZ Animation Masters Summit was held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 4^th and 5^th May, 2018.
Highlights of 19th edition of TOONZ Animation Masters Summit:
i. The summit was organised by  Toonz Media Group.
ii. It provided information about new trends in animation domain with an objective to inspire creators to use modern technology and take advantage of fresh opportunities.
iii. On May 4, 2018, Ashish Kulkarni – Chairman of FICCI for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics Forum inaugurated the summit.
iv. During the Summit, V G Samant, pioneer of Indian animation and creator was honoured with the ‘Legend of Animation’ award for his contributions to the animation industry.
v. Nearly, 400 individuals associated with animation and media industry in India and abroad, attended this summit.

3rd edition of UNPCAP held in New Delhi
3^rd edition of the United Nations Peacekeeping Course for African Partners (UNPCAP) was inaugurated in New Delhi on May 7, 2018.
Highlights of 3rd edition of UNPCAP:
i. The course in geared to build and enhance the capacity of the African Troop Contributing Countries to the UN.
ii. It is being conducted by the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping in India (CUNPK) in partnership with the US.
iii. During the course of this training, sessions covering various topics viz. operational and logistical matters, thematic topics, humanitarian issues, table top exercises and mission briefs would be conducted.
iv. The 3^rd edition of UNPCAP will conclude on May 25, 2018.
v. It is to be noted that first and second editions of the course were also held in New Delhi, in 2016 and 2017.

India to Host 15th Asia Media Summit from 10-12 May in New Delhi
Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has announced that India will host the 15th Asia Media Summit from 10^th to 12^th May, 2018.
More Information about 15th Asia Media Summit:
i. The summit will be jointly hosted by the Information and Broadcasting (I-B) Ministry, Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) and public sector firm Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL).
ii.This is the first time that India is hosting the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD), Kuala Lumpur.
iii.Theme of the summit will be ‘Telling Our Stories – Asia and More’.
iv. The inaugural ceremony of the summit will be presided over by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani.
v. Over 200 foreign delegates representing 39 countries and over 100 Indian delegates would participate in this Summit.
vi. The summit would serve as a platform for broadcasters in the Asian region to share their thoughts on various aspects of broadcasting and discuss challenges to the broadcasting sector in the region.
vii. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting would present World Television Awards 2018 at the concluding session of the Summit.
viii. Next edition of Asia Media Summit will be held in Philippines.

First Integrated Smart Cities Control Centre Launched In MP
On May 8, 2018, Madhya Pradesh State Government launched India’s first Integrated Control and Command Centre (ICCC) for all seven smart cities of the state in Bhopal.
Details about India’s first ICCC for Smart Cities:
i. The centre was inaugurated by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri.
ii. The ICCC will enable State authorities to monitor the status of various smart civic amenities in real-time through the sensors connected to it.
iii. ICCC is a cloud-based Universal Internet of Things (UIoT) platform. It has been developed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).
iv. Cities of Madhya Pradesh that have been selected under Smart Cities Mission are Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Satna, and Sagar.

Maharashtra Govt to Give Rs 3-Per-Litre Subsidy to Milk Producers
On May 8, 2018, Maharashtra State Cabinet decided to provide Rs 3 subsidy for every litre of milk to the co-operative and private producers to manufacture milk powder.
i. This decision is aimed at encouraging production of milk powder from surplus milk.
ii. It will further help balance the demand-and-supply of milk and producers in Maharashtra will get Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 27 per litre.
iii. In context of this news, it is important to note that Milk production in Maharashtra is at peak since past few days. By end of March 2018, the state had surplus 26506 tonnes of milk powder.
Quick Facts about Maharashtra:
♦ Capital – Mumbai
♦ Current Chief Minister – Devendra Fadnavis
♦ Current Governor – Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao
♦ Important National Park – Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Hardeep Puri inaugurates the ‘First Apex Conference for the CEOs of Smart Cities’ in Bhopal
On 8^th May 2018, Hardeep Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing & Urban Affairs inaugurated the ‘First Apex Conference for the CEOs of Smart Cities’ in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
First Apex Conference for the CEOs of Smart Cities:
i. The conference is held for 2 days till 9^th May 2018. It is organized for offering a platform for cross learning and knowledge sharing among the Smart City CEOs.
ii. The conference will let the CEOs learn from the experiences of all city leaders. The plenary sessions will have panel discussions and presentations by Smart City CEOs.
iii. It will focus on high impact projects. The way forward for the city level project implementation will also be discussed.
iv. An exhibition displaying various projects undertaken by Cities under Smart Cities Mission is held.
v. This Conference also offers an opportunity for the Smart City CEOs to visit and appreciate smart city projects implemented by Bhopal Smart City Limited.
vi. Representatives from municipal, State and Central Government and various other stakeholders in the Smart City Mission from the civil society, academia, industry etc. are also taking part in this conference.
vii. The exhibition and presentations by the CEOs will offer ideas for accelerating project implementation and cross learning among Smart Cities. It will help cities to convert ideas into concrete actions.
About Smart Cities Mission (SCM):
♦ Launched on – 25 June 2015
♦ Key projects – digitally integrated smart city centers, street re-design, installation of solar rooftop on buildings, etc.

Naval Commander’s conference to begin at New Delhi
On 8^th to 11^th May 2018, the first edition of 2018 Bi-annual Naval Commander’s Conference is held in New Delhi.
Naval Commander’s conference:
i. Navy will review its new Mission-Based Deployments philosophy to ensure peace and stability, during the conference.
ii. The new deployment philosophy, in furtherance of the Prime Minister’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), aims to attain sustained, peaceful and responsive presence of Indian Naval ships in critical areas and choke points.
iii. Combat Efficiency and Materiel Readiness, and upkeep of 131 ships and submarines has been the Navy’s focus in the past year.
iv. Various measures taken to improve Combat Efficiency, like new Transition Cycle for ships for transition from maintenance periods through a training phase and full scale operations will be reviewed at the conference.
v. Measures to ensure safety, continued training, and checks and balances on crew proficiency for frontline warships will be reviewed.
vi. Overhaul of training standards of units by revamping the ‘Ship Operating Standards (SHOPS)’ is in process.
vii. The new SHOPS will focus on Role-based training in realistic scenarios and will set standards to be met by units.
viii. Naval Commanders will discuss on steps to improve the Teeth-to-Tail ratio and explore fields like Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics.
ix. Advanced technologies for ‘Made-in-India’ will also be a focus area for the Commanders.
x. Initiatives like ‘Indian Naval Indigenisation Plan 2015-30’ aimed at improving indigenous defence industrial capability involving the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will be discussed.
xi. The Commanders will discuss on optimal utilisation of the Navy’s share of defence budget by prioritising capital acquisitions and modernisation plans to link major capability gaps.
xi. The Conference will be addressed by Defence Minister during the inaugural session. It will be followed by discussions with the officials of Defence Ministry.
About Indian Navy:
♦ Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) – Admiral Sunil Lanba
♦ Headquarters – New Delhi

Andhra CM launches NCBN app to implement effective governance
On 8^th May 2018, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu launched the official ‘NCBN’ (Nara Chandrababu Naidu) App in the Collector’s conference held at Amaravati.
‘NCBN’ (Nara Chandrababu Naidu) App:
i. The ‘NCBN’ (Nara Chandrababu Naidu) App has been launched to implement effective governance in Andhra Pradesh.
ii. The app will notify people in real-time with news updates. It will be a direct platform for the common people to interact with the government.
iii. The NCBN app is available at present on Android and Apple app stores for download.
Some wildlife sanctuaries in Andhra Pradesh:
♦ Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary
♦ Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary
♦ Papikonda Wildlife Sanctuary

Sachin Tendulkar, Anurag Thakur launch ‘Khel Mahakumbh’
On May 4, 2018, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar launched ‘Star Khel Mahakumbh’ in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, in the presence of 1500 athletes.
More information about ‘Star Khel Mahakumbh’:
i. The aim of th€e event is to attract participation from at least 100000 youngsters from Anurag Thakur’s Hamirpur constituency.
ii. The Khel Mahkumbh will have competitions in volleyball, cricket, basketball, football, kabaddi and athletics.
iii. The event seeks participation from youth across 5000 villages and 800 panchayats, including the most remotest ones.
iv. Anurag Thakur has stated that over Rs 1 crore will be invested in this project over the period of next five years.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India Ranks 4th in Asia-Pacific On Power Index
India has ranked 4^th out of 25 nations on the Asia Power Index released by Lowy Institute (a Sydney-based Think Tank).
Highlights of Asia Power Index:
i. Asia Power Index ranks 25 countries and territories in Asia-Pacific region in terms of their overall power.
ii. The countries are assessed on 114 indicators placed under eight broad measures of power viz. economic resources, resilience, military capability, future trends, diplomatic influence, economic relationships, defence networks and cultural influence. 
iii. India has ranked fourth on the parameters of economic resources, military capability, diplomatic influence, fifth on resilience, third on cultural influence and future trends.
iv. Overall, India has been referred to as a “giant of the future”. However, it has ranked lower on the measures of economic relationships (ranking 7^th) and in defense networks (ranking 10^th).
v. US is the most significant power in the Asia-Pacific region.
Asia Power Index – Top 5:

India Slips to 6th Spot In Biz Optimism Index: Thornton
As per Grant Thornton’s quarterly global business survey released on May 8, 2018, India has slipped to the 6th position globally in the business optimism index for the first quarter of 2018.
Business Optimism in India:
i. Business Optimism Index rankings are based on a quarterly global business survey of 2500 businesses in 37 economies conducted by professional services network Grant Thornton.
ii. Grant Thornton outlined that business sentiment in India has been the weakest since 2014.
iii. Weakening Indian rupee and a surge in oil prices have been identified as prime factors that led to deterioration in confidence since the third quarter of 2017.
iv. In addition to this, pessimism is prevailing in corporate profitability, employment and exports expectations.
v. The survey findings also revealed that Indian businesses consider red tape, availability of skilled workforce, lack of information communication and technology (ICT) infrastructure and shortage of finance as biggest constraints to growth.
Biz Optimism Index – Top 5:

China: Xi met with Kim Jong Un in Dalian
On May 8 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian.
i. The summit was held in the port city of Dalian , barely weeks after the two leaders took part in historic talks in China’s capital city Beijing in March 2018.
ii. China backs Pyongyang’s adherence to the denuclearization of the peninsula, and advocates the dialogue and consultation between the North Korea and the United States (US) for resolving the peninsula issue.

India-Malaysia’s joint exercise ‘Harimau Shakti’ enters phase two
On 7^th May 2018, the second phase of the Indian and Malaysian armies’ joint military exercise ‘Harimau Shakti’ began in Hulu Langat forest of Malaysia.
Harimau Shakti:
i. The Harimau Shakti exercise was held under harsh and humid conditions. During the field training exercise, combat engineers of Indian Army deactivated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
ii. The sappers team from 3 Engineer regiment of the Indian Army are training with the Malaysian Army combat engineers as a part of their first joint exercise.
iii. The joint exercise will be conducted till 13^th May 2018. It aims to share the expertise of Indian and Malaysian contingents in conducting counterinsurgency operations in a forest area.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

2018 Cannes Film Festival
On 8^th to 19^th May 2018, the 71^st Cannes Festival is held in Cannes, France.
2018 Cannes Film Festival:
i. Australian actress Cate Blanchett is the President of the Jury for the Main competition.
ii. The Official festival poster features Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina from Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 film Pierrot le Fou.
iii. Out of the 21 films in contention, only 3 films have female directors. The 2018 Cannes Film festival will open with ‘Everybody Knows’, a psychological thriller movie.
Nicknames of some Indian cities:
♦ Bhuvaneshwar (Orissa) – Temple City
♦ Cuttack (Orissa) – Silver City
♦ Yavatmal (Maharashtra) – Cotton City

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Russian President chooses to retain Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister for his new term
Russian President Vladimir Putin has nominated Dmitry Medvedev again to be Russian prime minister in his new term.
Russian President chooses to retain Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister:
i. Dmitry Medvedev has been the Russian Prime Minister since 2012.
ii. Vladimir Putin secured a new six-year term winning the presidential election held on 18^th March 2018. He was sworn in as Russian President for a new term on 7^th May 2018.

Nikol Pashinyan becomes Prime Minister of Armenia
On 8^th May 2018, Nikol Pashinyan was elected as new prime minister of Armenia.
Nikol Pashinyan – Prime Minister of Armenia:
i. Armenia’s parliament elected Nikol Pashinyan as new prime minister in a 59-42 vote. His election comes after Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation as Prime minister of Armenia recently.
ii. Nikol Pashinyan is 42 years old. He is the leader of Civil Contract party. He is a former newspaper editor.
iii. He started a protest movement with a march of non-violence on 31^st March 2018 demanding Serzh Sargsyan to reisgn.
About Armenia:
♦ Official language – Armenian
♦ President – Armen Sarkissian

Panasonic India appoints Manish Misra as chief innovation officer
Panasonic India, a technology and innovation firm, has appointed Manish Misra as the Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) of its India business.
Manish Misra – Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) of Panasonic India:
i. Manish Misra will be responsible for the strategic development of innovation and technology and will lead Panasonic’s innovation hub in India.
ii. As Chief Innovation Officer (CIO), Manish Misra will report to Manish Sharma, President and CEO, Panasonic India.
iii. Earlier, Manish Misra worked with HID Global as its India R&D Head and Vice President of Engineering and Innovation.

Google Appoints Nitin Bawankule as the Country Head For Google Cloud India
On 8^th May 2018, Google said that, it has appointed Nitin Bawankule as the country head for Google Cloud India.
Nitin Bawankule – Country Head For Google Cloud India:
i. Nitin Bawankule has been a part of Google’s India operations for more than six years. He will report to Google Cloud Managing Director (Asia Pacific) Rick Harshman.
ii. Nitin Bawankule has more than 20 years of experience. He has worked with Dell, Motorola Mobility, Whirlpool and Godrej GE Appliances.

SPORTS

Tim Paine confirmed as Australia’s one-day captain as ODI, T20 squads announced
Tim Paine and Aaron Finch have been appointed as Australia’s new ODI and T20 captains respectively.
Australia’s new ODI and T20 captains:
i. Tim Paine will lead the ODI side in the UK in the absence of banned former captain Steve Smith. Aaron Finch has been appointed as his one-day deputy captain for the five-match series.
ii. Aaron Finch will lead the T20 international team. Alex Carey has been appointed the vice-captain for a one-off T20 in England and a T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe.
iii. The appointment of Tim Paine as ODI captain is temporary. A long-term captain will be appointed later.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Red Cross Day 2018
On 8^th May 2018, World Red Cross Day 2018 was celebrated all over the world.
World Red Cross Day 2018:
i. World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is an annual celebration of the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
ii. World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is celebrated on 8^th May every year. This day marks the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant, who was born on 8 May 1828.
iii. He is the founder of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). He is also the first recipient of Nobel Peace Prize.
iv. The theme for World Red Cross Day 2018 is “Memorable smiles from around the world”.
About Indian Red Cross Society:
♦ Formed – 1920
♦ Headquarters – New Delhi

World Cartoonist’s Day – May 5
On 5^th May 2018, World Cartoonist’s Day was observed all over the world.
World Cartoonist’s Day:
i. World Cartoonist’s Day is celebrated every year on 5^th May 5 to honor all cartoonists.
ii. On 5^th May 1895, the first colour cartoon “The Yellow Kid” that was created by Richard F Outcault was published.
Some important museums in India:
♦ Mahabir Stadium – Haryana
♦ Tau Devi Lal Stadium – Haryana
♦ Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium – Haryana

Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War, 8-9 May
On 8^th and 9^th May 2018, Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War is observed.
Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War:
i.Through resolution 59/26 of 22 November 2004, the UN General Assembly declared 8 and 9 May as Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War.
ii.Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War is an annual observance on 8^th and 9^th May.
iii.This day is observed to make efforts to settle all disputes by peaceful means and in such a manner that international peace and security are not endangered.