Current Affairs May -16, 2017 – India ranked 2nd in EY renewable energy attractiveness index

NATIONAL

India ranked 2nd in EY renewable energy attractiveness index:

    India has moved up to the second spot from third position in this year’s ‘Renewable energy country attractiveness index’ released by EY. This is primarily due to a combination of strong government support and increasingly attractive economics.

Bengali mandatory in west Bengal schools:

The West Bengal government has made Bengali compulsory in all schools, including private English medium schools of the State. It will be compulsory for students to learn Bengali in schools. The announcement was made by Education Minister Partha Chatterjee.

India’s first ornamental fish tech park at Chennai:

India’s first Aquatic Rainbow Technology Park (ARTP) will be set up in Chennai. The park, an ultra-modern exclusive facility for ornamental fish equipped with multi-species hatchery and live feed culture units, will become operational in the next three months, fulfilling a major requirement of the industry for mass production of high value aquarium fish.

West Bengal government to introduce new fishing method ‘cage culture’:

West Bengal government is all set to introduce a new method of deep-sea pisciculture commonly known as cage culture. As the name suggests, the practice consists of culturing fish inside big floating cages in the middle of the sea.

INTERNATIONAL

Trump meets UAE crown prince

President Donald Trump is meeting the crown prince of Abu Dhabi at the White House. The President welcomed Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates for their first face-to-face meeting since Mr. Trump took office.

The two leaders spoke about “regional security matters,” trade and bilateral investments, as well as about the defence cooperation agreement between the two countries.

Yemen declares state of emergency over cholera outbreak:

Yemen is declared a state of emergency in the Sanaa, Yemeni capital where a deadly outbreak of cholera has spread rapidly. The World Health Organization now classifies Yemen as one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in the world alongside Syria, South Sudan, Nigeria and Iraq.

Banking & Business

BHEL bags Rs 233 crore orders from RFCL:

State-owned power equipment maker BHEL has won Rs 233 crore order for a steam and power generation package from Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (RFCL). The order has been placed on BHEL for setting up the package at RFCL’s fertilizer plant at Ramagundam in Telangana.

APPOINTMENTS

Israel’s appointed the first female Sharia judge:

Israel President Reuven Rivlin and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked appointed the first ever female judge “Hana Khatib” for Israel’s Sharia Court system in Jerusalem, along with three other regional qadis.

Edouard Philippe as French PM:

France President Emmanuel Macron appointed an Edouard Philippe as France new prime minister. This is the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic that a President has appointed someone from outside his own party without being explicitly required to do so by a parliamentary vote.

AWARDS

IIT Hyderabad researcher wins INSA young scientist award:

A researcher from Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Prof. Aravind Kumar Rengan, who is an Assistant Professor in the Biomedical Engineering has been awarded Indian National Science Academy (INSA) medal in the Young Scientist category for 2017.

In devising a novel way of ‘nano’ delivery using liposomes and gold nanoparticles, which finds its applications in both imaging and therapeutics.

OBITUARY

Former Puducherry Chief Minister Ramassamy passes away:

Former Puducherry Chief Minister S Ramassamy died at his residence at the age of 80. He became Chief Minister in 1974 heading the AIADMK-CPI coalition ministry for a brief period.