DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : May 20, 2019

Dear Aspirants,

Daily Current Affairs (May 20, 2019) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Indias fastest train Vande Bharat Express completed 1 Lakh kilometers without missing single trip

India’s fastest train ‘Vande Bharata Express’ completed 1 Lakh kilometers without missing a single trip.
It was flagged off by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi under ‘Make In India’ Initiative, on February 15, 2019 from New Delhi to Varanasi.
This 16 coach train began its commercial run from February 17, 2019.
The indigenously-built high-speed train was manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai.
The train has facilities like high-speed onboard WiFi, GPS-based passenger information system, touch-free bio-vacuum toilets, LED lighting, mobile charging points, and a climate control system which automatically adjusts to the temperature.

About ‘Make In India’ Initiative:

‘Make in India’ is a flagship program formally launched by PM Narendra Modi on 25th September 2014.
The campaign was dedicated to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.

Kerala became first state to list Masala Bond in overseas market

Kerala became the first state to tap into masala bond market by listing the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)’s masala bond worth of USD 312 million (Rs 2,150 crore) in London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s International Securities Market (ISM).
The masala bond has tenor of 5-year and a 9.723% coupon Kerala’s state finance minister Thomas Issac executed this move.
The main objective of this initiative was to tap masala bond market and to rebuild the infrastructure in Kerala from the proceeds of masala bond.

About Kerala

♦ Capital: Thiruvananthapuram

♦ Governor: P. Sathasivam

♦ Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan

About London Stock Exchange (LSE)

♦ Location: London, U.K

♦ CEO: David Schwimmer

India delivered the first pair of Mi 24 attack helicopters to Afghan Air Force

India delivered the first pair of Mi-24 attack helicopters as a replacement to the Afghan Air Force.
The helicopters were handed over to the Acting Defence Minister Asadullah Khalid by the Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Vinay Kumar at the Kabul Air Force base.
The helicopters were Purchased from Belarus.

Mi-24:

National origin: Soviet Union/Russia
Manufacturer: Mil
First flight: 19 September 1969
Introduced in: 1972
Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter, and low-capacity troop transport that can contain eight passengers.
It has been designed to take on fortified enemy positions and locations prone.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

UK govt. passes an ammendment which allows Sikhs to carry kirpans

The U.K. government has passed an amendment, the Offensive Weapons Bill, by which Sikhs in the country will be allowed to carry kirpans and use it during religious and cultural functions.
The Offensive Weapons Bill received theroyal assent.
The Bill had been amended in 2018 to ensure that it would not impact the right of the British-Sikh community to possess and supply kirpans, or religious swords.

Kirpan:

The kirpan is a sword or small dagger, originating from the Indian subcontinent, carried by Sikhs.
It is also part of a religious commandment given by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, in which he demanded that Sikhs must wear the five articles of faith (the five Ks) at all times, the kirpan being one of five Ks.

India sets Guinness World Records of largest laundry lesson with the participation of 400 young men

India achieved a Guinness World Records of ‘largest laundry lesson’ with the participation of 400 young Indian men. The event was a part of #sharetheload campaign.
It was done to share the responsibility of cleaning clothes at home along with the female members of the family
The event was initiated by Ariel India.
It was hosted by Mandira Bedi and Indian Actor Anil Kapoor also joined the function.
Earlier, the largest laundry lesson was achieved by Lion NANOX Team (Japan) at Lion Hirai Research Laboratory in Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan on November 29, 2017. It had 318 people.

About Guinness World Records:

♦ Originally Published: 1955

♦ Subject: World Records

♦ Publisher: Jim Pattison Group

♦ Genre: Reference work

♦ Authors: Craig Glenday, Norris McWhirter

BANKING & FINANCE

HDFC Capital Advisors launched an initiative termed as HDFC Affordable Real Estate and Technology Programme (HeART)

HDFC Capital Advisors, (a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDFC Ltd) launched an initiative termed astHDFC Affordable Real Estate and Technology Programme (HeART), the objective of which is to mentor, partner and invest in real estate technology companies which produce innovative products that aim at lowering costs and creating efficiencies in every stage of the development cycle of the affordable housing system.

Panel submits report on digital payments to RBI

A Reserve Bank of India-appointed committee on ‘suggestions on promoting digital payment’.
It was headed by Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani has submitted its suggestions on promoting Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2019 – 2021, digital payments to Governor Shaktikanta Das.
The five-member panel was encouraging digitisation of payments and enhance financial inclusion through digitisation.
RBI will examine the recommendations of the committee and will link the action points, wherever necessary, in its Payment Systems Vision 2021 for implementation.

Panel Members:

Besides Nandan Nilekani (Infosys co-founder), H R Khan (former RBI deputy governor), Kishore Sonsi (former MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank), Aruna Sharma (former secretary in ministries of IT and steel) and Sanjay Jain (chief innovation officer, Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (Cll E), 11M Ahmedabad).

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India’s Forex reserve rises to $420.055 bn

According to the Reserve Bank of India’s weekly statistical supplement, the overall forex reserves rose to $420.055 billion from $418.687 billion.
India’s forex reserves comprise of Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs), gold reserves, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs), the largest component of the forex reserves, edged higher by $1.358 billion to $392.227 billion. Besides the US dollar, FCAs consist of 20-30 per cent of the other major global currencies.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Nancy Pelosi honoured with 2019 John F Kennedy Profile in Courage Award

The USA’s House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was honoured with 2019 John F Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. She was recognized for putting national interest above her party’s interest, for her efforts to pass former President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care law(Obama Care) and also for helping Democrats reclaim control of U.S. House during 2018 elections.
She has served in House of Representatives since 1987.
Previous Honorees of the award includes former Presidents Barack Obama, Gerald Ford, and prominent lawmakers Rep. John Lewis and late Sen. John McCain.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

ILFS Engineering appoints Karim Raza Khan as CEO

IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company Ltd. has appointed Kazim Raza Khan as its chief executive officer.
Mr. Khan was appointed as the manager and key managerial personnel of the company on December 24, 2018.
Khan has an overall professional experience of over three decades in the technical field focused on infrastructure. He will continue to be key managerial personnel of the company.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Methanol, water ice, and organic molecules is found on Ultima Thules surface

NASA’s New Horizons mission team has found evidence for a unique mixture of methanol, water ice, and organic molecules on Ultima Thule’s surface which is the farthest world ever explored by mankind.
The U.S. space agency has published the first profile of Ultima Thule, an ancient relic from the era of planet formation, revealing details about the complex space object.

Ultima Thule:

Ultima Thule is a contact binary, because it has two differently-shaped lobes. It’s about 22 miles long and consists of a large, weirdly flat lobe (Ultima) that’s connected to a small, slightly rounder lobe (Thule), at a juncture dubbed the neck.
It features bright spots, hills, craters, and pits. The biggest depression on Ultima Thule is five miles in diameter and it is nicknamed as the Maryland crater, which could have been created from an impact event.
Some smaller pits on Ultima Thule though might have developed by material falling into underground spaces.

Govt plans introducing artificial intelligence system in MCA 21 portal

The union governmentplans to introduce artificial intelligence system in the MCA 21 portal as it seeks to make the compliance process easier as well as ensure routine enforcement activities are done round-the-clock on autopilot basis.
MCA 21 is the electronic backbone for the dissemination of information to all stakeholders, including the regulator, corporates and investors.
All filings under the companies law are submitted to the ministry through this portal. Ministry of Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas has said the ministry would like to introduce Artificial Intelligence in MCA 21 when version 3 of the portal is rolled out in about a year’s time.

BSNL partnered with Google for expanding WiFi footprint

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) partnered with Google on the occasion of World Telecom Day. The main objective is to expand BSNL Wifi footprint in the country.
Currently, there are around 38,000 BSNL Wifi hotspot locations working across the country and one can use these after buying the Wi-Fi vouchers worth of Rs 19 and more.

About Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)

Headquarter: New Delhi
CEO: Anupam Shrivastava

About Google

Headquarter: California, US
CEO: Sundar Pichai

SPORTS NEWS

PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal to spearhead Indian challenge at Sudirman Cup in China

Sudirman Cup tournament will begin at the Guangxi Sports Center Gymnasiumin Nanning, China. The Top shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will spearhead the Indian challenge at this prestigious tournament.
The Indian team will begin their campaign tomorrow against Malaysia in Group 1-D. India reached the quarterfinals twice in the 2011 and 2017 editions but failed to cross the last eight stage.
Sudirman Cup is a mixed team Badminton Championship held every two years. There are 12 elite teams that will take part in the tournament. Each group comprises of three teams, with the top two qualifyings for the quarterfinals.

Rafael Nadal claimed the Italian Open 2019 title

Rafael Nadal has won a record 34th ATP Masters 1000 title by defeating Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open final 2019. This is his ninth Rome title.
Nadal dominated in a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 win broke a tie with his longtime rival Djokovic. For his victory, Nadal received 1,000 ATP Ranking points and earned ₹7.5 crore. Djokovic produced an error-strewn performance in his 54th meeting with Nadal.

Result of Italian Open 2019:

Men’s Singles: Spain Rafael Nadal
Women’s Singles: Czech Republic Karolína Plíšková
Men’s Doubles: Colombia Juan Sebastián Cabal / Colombia Robert Farah
Women’s Doubles: Belarus Victoria Azarenka / Australia Ashleigh Barty

Italian Open 2019:

The 2019 Italian Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was played from 15 May-21 May 2019.
It was the 76th edition of the Italian Open and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2019 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2019 WTA Tour.

Koepka set record in the lowest 36 hole score in PGA Championship

American golfer Brooks Koepka set a record in the lowest 36-hole score in Major golf history and seized a record seven-stroke lead after two rounds of the US PGA Championship. Brooks Koepka now holds the 18, 36 and 72-hole scoring records for the US PGA Championship.
Koepka, who set the course record with a 63 on 16th May, birdied three of the first four holes and four of the last six on 17th May to complete the most overpowering start even seen in Major golf.
His devastating two-day performance produced the largest halfway lead in modern major golf history. The biggest previous 36-hole PGA lead had been Zimbabwean Nick Price’s five-shot edge in 1994. Tiger Woods missed the cut.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Bee Day: 20th May

To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators (such as bees, butterflies, bats and hummingbirds), the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated 20 May as World Bee Day.
20 May coincides with the birthday of Anton Janša, who in the 18th century pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in his native Slovenia and praised the bees for their ability to work so hard, while needing so little attention.

World Metrology Day: 20 May

World Metrology Day is observed every year on 20 May.
The theme for World Metrology Day 2019 is ‘The International System of Units – Fundamentally better’.

OBITUARIES

I M Pei The Master Architect Passes Away

I M Pei, a dominant figure in American architecture for more than three decades who designed the Louvre’s crystal pyramid, has passed away.Pei’s more than 50 projects included the Musee d’Art Moderne in Luxembourg (2006) and the 72-story Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong (1989).
He was honored with the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal in 1979; the Grande Medaille d’Or from the Academie d’Architecture de France; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the USA.

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