Current Affairs May 29, 2017 : 

PM’s 6-day tour to Europe

ISRO set to launch its heaviest rocket GSLV MK III:

 ISRO set to launch its heaviest rocket of 640-tonne Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV Mk III) on June at Sriharikota. The rocket will be carrying communication satellite GSAT-19. The GSAT 19, weighing around 3.2 tonnes is the heaviest satellite to be lifted by an Indian rocket.

• ISRO Headquarter: Bangalore
• Director: S. Kiran Kumar

General Bipin Rawat begins his 4-day visit to Myanmar:

          Army Chief General Bipin Rawat began a 4-day visit to Myanmar. He will meet the country’s iconic leader Aung San Suu Kyi and hold talks with military leadership to further ramp up defence and security cooperation between the two countries.

About Myanmar:

• Capital: Naypyidaw
• Currency: Burmese kyat
• President: Htin Kyaw

PM’s 6-day tour to Europe:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi beginning a 6-day, four-nation (Germany, Spain, Russia and France) tour of Europe. Starting from Germany, the Prime Minister will travel to Spain (May 29-30), Russia (May 31- June 1) and France (June 2-3).

PM Modi is to meet all these leaders once again in July at the G-20 summit in Hamburg (Spain is not a G-20 country, but is a permanent invitee).

Union Minister Arun Jaitley launched Aeronautical Test Range:

The Rs 1,300 crore Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) set up in Chitradurga in Karnataka for testing unmanned and manned aircraft being developed locally would be inaugurated by Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley.

 Pune police bagged smart policing award 2017:

The Pune city police have bagged the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) Smart Policing Award for the year 2017.

The Pune City Police has been awarded for their initiatives on women and cyber security such as “Buddy Cop”, “Damini squad” and “Lost & Found portal”.

Dailong village in Manipur declared as Biodiversity Heritage Site:

The Manipur government has declared Dailong village of Tamenglong district as a Biodiversity Heritage Site of the state. The Dailong village covering an area of 11.35 sq km has been declared as Biodiversity Heritage Site under Section 37(1) of Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

• Manipur CM: Biren Singh
• Capital: Imphal
• Governor: Najma A.Heptulla

Haryana announces pension scheme for Journalists:

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar announced incentives for journalists, including an Rs 10,000 monthly pension scheme for those who are above 60 years and have completed 20 years in the profession.

He also announced a life insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh and a cashless mediclaim policy of Rs 500,000.The announcements were made by the Chief Minister at the “Swarna Jayanti Journalists Meet” in Panchkula.

• Haryana Capital: Chandigarh
• Governor: Kaptan Singh Solanki

INTERNATIONAL

The world’s largest optical and infrared telescope “ELT” in Chile:

The Construction has begun on the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) in Chile. It built by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) on the 3,046 m (9,993 ft) on high summit of Cerro Armazones in Chile.

It has 39 meter wide lens that will help scientists understand the inner-workings of the universe. The Construction deadline to completion is 2024.

About Chile:

• Capital: Santiago
• Currency: Chilean peso
• President: Michelle Bachelet

China launches advanced satellite navigation positioning system:

China launched national satellite navigation and positioning system. It is the largest in the country and boasts the widest coverage. The system consists of 2,700 base stations, a national database center and 30 provincial level database centers.

Banking & Business

Goldman, Citigroup among 5 bankers selected for IOC stake sale:

           The Government has selected five merchant bankers are Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Deutsche Equities, SBI Capital Markets and ICICI Securities to manage the government 3% stake sale in IOC(Indian Oil Corporation) which could fetch about Rs. 6,000 crore to the exchequer. Government currently holds 58.28% stake in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

IOC becomes India’s most profitable PSU (Public Sector Undertaking):

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has overtaken Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to become India’s most profitable state-owned company. Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy Service are top two most profitable companies in the country.

• IOC Headquarter: New Delhi
• ONGC Headquarter: Uttarakhand
• TCS Headquarter: Mumbai
• Reliance Industries Headquarter: Mumbai

APPOINTMENTS

Vani Sarraju Rao appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Finland:

Ms. Vani Sarraju Rao has appointed the next Ambassador of India to Finland. She is presently Joint Secretary in the ministry of External Affairs.

About Finland:

• Capital: Helsinki
• Currency: Euro
• President: Sauli Niinisto
• Prime Minister: Juha Sipila

Jaideep Mazumdar appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Philippines:

Shri Jaideep Mazumdar presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of the Philippines.

 About Philippines:

• Capital: Manila
• Currency: Peso
• President: Rodrigo Duterte

IFFCO Rakesh Kapur elected vice-chairman of IFA:

Rakesh Kapur has been appointed a chairman of International Fertilizer Association (IFA). Also, he is a joint managing director of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO).IFA Annual conference held in Marrakech, Morocco.

IFA Headquarter: Paris, France

Morocco capital & currency: Rabat and Moroccan Dirham

Morocco Prime Minister: Saadeddine Othmani

SPORTS

South Korea Wins Sudirman Cup:

South Korea won badminton’s Sudirman Cup for the first time in 14 years with win over 10-time champions China at Australia’s Gold Coast.

Bhavani Devi became the first Indian to win gold in World Cup Fencing Championship:

India’s C A Bhavani Devi has became the first Indian to won the gold medal in the sabre event of the Tournoi World Cup Satellite Fencing Championship held at Reykjavik in Iceland.

Harmanpreet Kaur becomes the first Indian women cricketer to play in England’s T20 league:

          Harmanpreet Kaur set to become the first Indian women cricketer to feature in the 2^nd edition of England’s Women’s Cricket Super League after signing up with Team Surrey Stars.

Ananya Kamboj to represent India at F4F Championship:

          Ananya Kamboj is going to represent India at the ‘Football for Friendship’ Championship in St. Petersburg, Russia from 26 June to 3 July, as a Young Journalist.

This is part of Mission XI Million programme of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017. The ‘Football for Friendship’ programme is supported by Gazprom and FIFA.

• FIFA Headquarter: Zurich, Switzerland
• FIFA President: Gianni Infantino

HISTORIC EVENTS OF THE DAY

May 29^th observed as “International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers”:

May 29 is a day to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication, and courage and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

Theme of 2017: Investing in Peace around the World.

OBITUARY

Southern Rock Pioneer, Gregg Allman passes away:

Gregg Allman, the soulful singer-songwriter and rock n’ blues pioneer who founded The Allman Brothers Band with his late brother, Duane has died at age 69.

Queen of Cashmere, “Laura Biagiotti” passes away:

Laura Biagiotti was the first Italian designer to present a fashion show in China and Russia. She has died in Rome at age 73 due to cardiac arrest.