Current Affairs May – 9 – India and Japan affirm plans to strengthen their defence cooperation amid rising tension in Asian region

NATIONAL

Jharkhand government partners with Oracle to boost IT infrastructure:

    In a bid to ramp up its IT infrastructure, the Jharkhand government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with US-based technology major Oracle to enhance delivery of services to citizens as well as make the State more attractive for start-ups. It will create increase employment and alleviate poverty.

India elected president of UN-Habitat:

India has been unanimously elected as the president of the UN-Habitat, an organ of the United Nations to promote sustainable human settlements across the globe.

Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who is currently in Nairobi in Kenya, will chair the four-day meeting of the 58-member Governing Council (GC) of UN-Habitat. The theme of the 26th meeting of the GC is ‘Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda’.

DIPP, WIPO to set up Technology and Innovation Support Centres for IP generation:

Industrial promotion body DIPP and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) have joined hands to establish Technology and Innovation Support Centres in the country which is expected to boost generation and commercialisation of intellectual properties.
    WIPO’s TISC programme provides innovators in developing countries with access to locally based, high quality technology information and related services, helping them exploit their innovative potential and to create, protect, and manage their intellectual property (IP) rights.

INTERNATIONAL

India and Japan affirm plans to strengthen their defence cooperation amid rising tension in Asian region:

    India and Japan have affirmed plans to strengthen their defence cooperation amid rising tension in the Asian region. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley told his Japanese counterpart, Tomomi Inada, in Tokyo that New Delhi hopes to pursue a strategic partnership with Japan for regional peace and stability.

Sachin Tendulkar visits Indian Navy’s frigate Tarkash in London:

    Hundreds of UK-based Indians turned out to cheer as cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar welcomed an Indian naval frigate as it docked on the river Thames in London. INS Tarkash, a state-of-the art stealth ship, is in the UK for naval exercises and to mark UK India Year of Culture 2017.

Banking & Business

India to grow at 7.7 per cent in 2018-19: IMF

    The International Monetary Fund says India’s growth is expected to rebound to 7.2 per cent in the 2017-18 fiscal and 7.7 per cent in 2018-19 after disruptions caused by demonetization. 

Airtel to ride with Ola to offer integrated digital services:

Telecommunications services provider Bharti Airtel is partnering with taxi aggregator Ola to offer a range of digital services to customers. The companies will collaborate to deliver enhanced convenience for customers by leveraging the strengths of their respective portfolios.

APPOINTMENTS

Donald Trump appoints Indian American Neil Chatterjee to key energy post:

    US President Donald Trump has appointed Neil Chatterjee to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees electricity, natural gas and oil at the national level.

He is the second Indian American to be appointed by Trump to a major regulatory position with a controversial mission.

Venu Rajamony appointed India’s Ambassador to Netherlands:

    Press Secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee and senior diplomat Venu Rajamony has been appointed India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands.

Rajamony will also be India’s Permanent Representative to the Organisation for Prevention of Chemical Weapons based in The Hague and cover the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and other international organisations based in the Netherlands.

OBITUARY

Oldest Nepali mountaineer dies climbing Mt Everest:

    Nepal’s 86-year-old mountaineer Min Bahadur Sherchan, who was once the oldest climber to scale the Mount Everest, died at its base camp, leaving his dream to re-conquer the world’s tallest peak unfulfilled.