DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: MAY 1&2, 2018

NATIONAL

9th India-Japan Energy Dialogue Held In New Delhi

The 9th India Japan Energy Dialogue was held in New Delhi. Minister of State(IC) for Power and New &Renewable Energy, Shri R.K Singh, and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Mr. Hiroshige Seko signed a Joint Statement.

India and Japan agreed to initiate discussion on the concept of electric vehicles (EVs) by collaborating with “Policy dialogue on next generation/Zero emission vehicles”.

Both countries agree to work together for energy security, energy access and climate change issues.     

15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held in Varanasi

The 2019 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in the holy city of Varanasi in January. The announcement was made the Indian Embassy’s Minister of Community Affairs Anurag Kumar.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated in India on 9 January each year.

The 2019 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.

The theme of the 2019 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be “Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India”. The event will be jointly organised by the Union Ministry of External Affairs in association with the Uttar Pradesh government.

Swachh Bharat Mission Launches GOBAR-DHAN Scheme

Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Uma Bharti, has launched the Gobardhan scheme from Haryana’s Karnal district.

It has been launched with an aim to positively contribute to cleanliness and generate energy from solid waste.

The abbreviation of GOBAR is Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources. This scheme is described as a component of the Open Defecation Free-plus strategy across the country.

The scheme focuses on managing and converting cattle dung and solid waste from farms and fields to useful compost, biogas and bio-CNG.

The scheme will help in keeping villages clean, generate energy and in increasing the income of farmers.

INTERNATIONAL

International Buddhist Conference Concluded In Lumbini, Nepal

The International Buddhist Conference was concluded in Lumbini, Nepal, the birth place of Gautama Buddha.

In his concluding remarks Prime Minister of Nepal K. P. Sharma Oli said that Lumbini is a fountain of light that candles Buddha’s quest for enlightenment.

It was organised as part of 2562nd Buddha Jayanti celebrations. The basic objective of the conference was to disseminate teachings of Gautam Buddha and spread the messages of nonviolence, brotherhood, co-existence, love and peace to the international community.

The theme of the meet is ‘Lumbini Nepal: The birthplace of Lord Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism and world peace’.

Second World Hindu Congress (WHC), scheduled to be held in Chicago

The 2018 World Hindu Congress will be held in Chicago from September 7 to 9.

It is held to commemorate 125 years of Swami Vivekananda’s historic Chicago address on September 11, 1893.

Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress, is the chairperson of the Chicago event and it is being organised by World Hindu Foundation headed by former IITian Swami Vigyananand.

The theme of the World Hindu Congress 2018 is “Sumantrite Suvikrante” — think collectively, achieve valiantly.

World Hindu Congress is a global platform for Hindus to connect, share ideas, inspire one another and impact the common good.

India and Pakistan to participate in SCO Counter-Terror Exercise Peace Mission 2018

India and Pakistan will be part of a multi-nation counter-terror exercise in Russia under the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

This is the first time the two neighbouring countries will be coming together for counter terrorism exercise.

The main aim of the ‘Peace Mission-2018’ exercise is to conduct it under the framework of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), which is headquartered in Tashkent (Uzbekistan).

The military drill will be held in the Ural mountains of Russia and almost all SCO member countries — China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the new members India and Pakistan — will be part of it.

SCO

Headquarters: Beijing, China

Secretary General: Rashid Alimov

BANKING AND ECONOMY

Paytm Introduces ‘Tap Card’ Offline Payments Solution

One97 Communications Limited, the owner of digital payment major, Paytm, announced the launch of its offline payments solution – the Paytm Tap Card.

Paytm Tap Card is a solution that also addresses any network-related concerns at the consumers’ or merchants’ end.

Paytm Tap Card uses near-field communication (NFC) technology to enable safe and convenient digital payments, completely offline at Paytm-issued NFC PoS terminals.

To make payments, users can add money from their Paytm account by scanning the QR code on the Tap Card and by authenticating it at any of the add value machines (AVM).

GAIL signs Rs2,000 crore loan agreement with SBI

The State-owned gas utility GAIL India has borrowed Rs2,000 crore loan from State Bank of India (SBI) to meet its general capital expenditure requirement.

The loan is for a 15-year tenure. The pact was signed in the presence of GAIL director (finance) Subir Purkayastha and SBI general manager S.K. Pradhan.

Gail Limited is the largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company in India.

GAIL

Headquarters: New Delhi

CEO: B. C. Tripathi

India is Second Fastest in Passenger Traffic Growth

India has been projected to be the second fastest growing country in the world for passenger traffic by the Airports Council International (ACI) in its traffic forecasts between 2017-40.

The Airports Council International has put Vietnam at the top position with a 8.5% growth rate, followed by India at 7.5% and Iran at 7.3%. China has been placed at the 8th position with 5.9% growth rate.

ACI has placed the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi among the top twenty busiest airports in the world, putting it at the 16th position.

APPOINTMENTS

Shubash Khuntia appointed as IRDAI chairman

Former IAS officer Subhash Chandra Khuntia was appointed as the new Chairman of Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for three-years.

Khuntia will succeed T S Vijayan, who completed his five-year term in February.

His appointment was approved by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). Khuntia was a 1981-batch Karnataka cadre officer. Khuntia was also Chief Secretary of Karnataka.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in India.

IRDAI

Headquarters: Hyderabad

Kavinder Gupta Takes Oath As J&K Deputy CM

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly speaker Kavinder Gupta and seven others were today sworn in as ministers.

Gupta will be the new deputy chief minister in place of Nirmal Singh, who submitted his resignation last night.

Gupta, who represents Jammu’s Gandhi Nagar, serves as the current Speaker of the state’s 89-member legislative Assembly. Gupta was elected as the Speaker over two years ago in March 2015 after senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar proposed Gupta’s name for the post.

Hockey India Appoints Harendra Singh As Chief Coach Of Men’s Team

Hockey India on Tuesday appointed Harendra Singh as the Chief Coach for the Indian Men’s Hockey Team.

He takes over from Dutchman Sjoerd Marijne, who will return back to his responsibility as coach of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team.

Harendra, who led the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team to the Junior World Cup title in 2016, was appointed as the Chief Coach of the Women’s Hockey team in September 2017.

Prior to that, he had led the women’s team to their ninth Asia Cup title in Japan last year.

Saudi Aramco appoints first woman to the board

Saudi Aramco, the world’s most profitable company, has appointed a woman to its board.

Lynn Elsenhans is the first female board member of Aramco. Elsenhans was named by Forbes magazine as one of the world’s most powerful women in 2008.

In a milestone move for Saudi Arabia, where only one-fifth of women work and there are very few female executives.

Saudi Aramco

Headquarters: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

CEO: Amin H. Nasser

Uday Kotak Redesignated As MD & CEO Of Kotak Mahindra Bank

The board of directors of Kotak Mahindra Bank has redesignated Uday Kotak as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 May, 2018.

Mr. Kotak was earlier executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director. Mr. Kotak was the only official among private banks to have a Vice Chairman designation.

Kotak Mahindra Bank

Headquarters: Mumbai

SPORTS

Shahzar Rizvi ranked World No. 1 in ISSF World rankings

India’s 10m air pistol shooter Shahzar Rizvi grabbed the No. 1 spot in ISSF World rankings.

He reached this spot by winning silver medal-winning performance in the World Cup in Changwon, Korea.

Top-10 rankings:

Men: 10m air pistol: Jitu Rai 6th; 10m air rifle rankings: Ravi Kumar 4th, Deepak Kumar 9th.

50m rifle 3-positions: Akhil Sheoran 4th, Sanjeev Rajput 8th.

Women: 10m air pistol: Manu Bhaker 4th; 10m air rifle: Mehuli Ghosh 7th. 50m rifle 3-positions: Anjum 8th.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Labour Day: 01 May

International Labour Day is also known as the International Worker’s Day and May Day.

It is celebrated on international level to promote and encourage the international labour associations.

The theme for 2018 is “Uniting Workers for Social and Economic Advancement”.

World Immunisation week

World Immunization Week is a global public health campaign to raise awareness and increase rates of immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases around the world.

For 2018, the theme for World Immunization Week was Protected Together, #VaccinesWork.

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