DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : May 17 & 18, 2020

Daily Current Affairs (May 17 & 18 2020) 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.

Also, Don’t forget to attend the  Daily Current Affairs Quiz : May 17&18 , 2020  now @ our Bankersdaily Tests.

Important Days:

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day- 17 May:

• World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is observed on 17^th may. It is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet & communication technologies.
• Theme 2020: “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.

National dengue day 2020, May 16:

• On 16th May Every year India observes National Dengue Day suggested by the Union Health Ministry to create awareness about measures on dengue prevention and to control the spread of the vector-borne disease and preparedness before the transmission season of dengue begins.

International Day of Living Together in Peace:

• The UN General-Assembly declared 16 May the International Day of Living Together in Peace, as a means of regularly mobilizing the efforts of the international community to promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding and solidarity.
• The Day aims to uphold the desire to live and act together, united in differences and diversity, in order to build a sustainable world of peace, solidarity and harmony.

World Hypertension Day

• World Hypertension Day is observed on May 17 every year to help raise awareness about high blood pressure, how it can be prevented and managed.
• The theme for World Hypertension Day is “Measure Your Blood Pressure, Control It, Live Longer”, with a goal of increasing high blood pressure (BP) awareness in all populations around the world.

International Museum Day- May 18:

• Every year on 18 May International Museum Day is observed to raise awareness among people about the museums as an important means of cultural exchange and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among people.
• The theme for International Museum Day 2020 is “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion”.

National News

Madhya Pradesh launches Charan Paduka initiative for migrant labourers:

• In Madhya Pradesh, in a first of its kind of initiative, Charan Paduka campaign has been started for the migrant labourers passing through the state. Under this, migrant labourers going barefoot are providing shoes and slippers to reduce their pain.

Madhya Pradesh              

• Capital: Bhopal
• Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chauhan
• Governor: Lal Ji Tandon

Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan: One TV channel each for Class 1 to 12:

• Digital education initiative for students called PM e-Vidya to be launched which will be an earmarked TV channel per class from 1 to 12. Also, top 100 universities to be permitted to automatically start online courses by 30 May 2020.
• National Foundational Literacy & Numeracy Mission to be launched.

Five-member panel formed to probe Vizag gas leak: Andhra Pradesh:

• Andhra Pradesh government has formed a 5-member high-powered committee led by Neerabh Kumar Prasad to probe into the causes behind the leakage of styrene gas from the LG Polymers India Ltd located at RR Venkatapuram in Visakhapatnam.

Rajnath Singh approves Rs 400-crore defence testing infrastructure scheme:

• To provide private sector defence and aerospace companies affordable facilities to test and validate weaponry they are designing, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved a Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) with an outlay of Rs 400 crore.
• Each project to receive 75% of its cost as government funding.

e-NAM reaches milestone of 1000 Mandis across 18 States, 3 UTs:

• The pan-India electronic agriculture trading portal, e-NAM has reached milestone of one thousand Mandis across 18 States and three Union Territories.
• The 38 new Mandis include 19 from Madhya Pradesh, 10 Mandis from Telangana, four from Maharashtra and one each in Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir.

Government to spend ₹8100 crore for enhanced VGF for social sector infra creation:

• Government would provide 30% viability gap funding (VGF), against the 20% given earlier for social infrastructure projects, to help boost private sector investment in social infrastructure projects with a total outlay of Rs 8,100 crore.
• Minister of State for Finance: Anurag Singh Thakur.

India’s Ultra Mega Solar Parks a $700-bn investment opportunity:

• India’s ultra-mega solar parks have attracted foreign capital and provided investors with an opportunity to join a $500-700 billion renewable energy and grid infrastructure investment boom in the coming decade, according to the latest report by Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
• Government set target to install 175 GW of renewable energy by FY22.

International News:

Israel: PM Benjamin Netanyahu To Continue 5th Term In Office:

• Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has secured a historic fifth straight term to form his government, after a controversial power-sharing deal with rival-turned-partner Benny Gantz.
• President Reuven Rivlin officially granted Netanyahu, two-week mandate to form his government, following which, Netanyahu announced the formation of his coalition government on 17 May 2020.

Israel:

• Capital:Jerusalem
• Currency:Israeli Shekel
• Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu
• President: Reuven Rivlin

Centre, WB govt, AIIB sign agreement for USD 145 million project to improve irrigation in West Bengal:

• Government of India, West Bengal Government and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signed a loan agreement for a 145 million dollar project to improve irrigation services and flood management in the Damodar Valley Command Area in West Bengal.

Banking and Economy:

Government raises FDI limit in defence production to 74% from 49%:

• Finance Minister N Sitharaman announced raising the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the defense sector under the automatic route from 49% to 74%. Also, Ordnance Factory Boards to be corporatised for better management & eventually get listed in stock markets.

NABARD Sanctions Special Liquidity Support Of Rs.1500 Crore For The Farmers Of Punjab:

• NABARD has sanctioned Rs 1,500 crore for Punjab to ensure continuous credit flow to farmers, through state cooperative banks. This is part of NABARD’s Rs 25,000 crore nationwide SLF, made available ensure the flow of credit to farmers during the pandemic.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD):

• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• Chairperson: Harsh Kumar Bhanwala.

Acquisitions and Mergers:

GCPL acquires balance 25% stake in Kenya-based Canon Chemicals:

• FMCG major Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) announced the acquisition of the balance 25% stake in Kenya-based Canon Chemicals Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Through this transaction, Canon Chemicals would now be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.
• Godrej Group firm had earlier acquired 75% stake in the company.

NRAI partners with DotPe to build tech platform for online payments:

• National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), the apex body of the F&B industry, has partnered with fintech start-up DotPe to build its own tech platform that would enable them with online payments for digital ordering, bill settlements, and contactless dining.

General Atlantic to invest ₹6,598.38 cr. for 1.34% stake in Jio Platforms:

• General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, has agreed to invest ₹6598.38 crores in Jio Platforms Ltd for a 1.34% stake, valuing the company at ₹5.16 lakh crore. With this Jio Platforms raised ₹67194.75 crores from leading technology investors.

CSIR joins hands with IIIT-Hyderabad and Intel:

• CSIR is working with Intel India and IIIT – Hyderabad to help achieve faster and less expensive COVID-19 testing and coronavirus genome sequencing to understand the epidemiology and AI-based risk stratification for patients with co-morbidities.

Science and Technology:

IISc develops antimicrobial composite material and testing protocols for PPEs:

• A team from Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru (IISc) has developed a three-layered antimicrobial composite material of low-cost for making masks. The material of N95 masks is designed to cut off particles of the size of 3 micrometres to about 95% efficiency.

Indian Navy Commissions Seventh MK IV Landing Craft Utility, IN LCU L57:

• General PS Rajeshwar, Commanding-in-Chief of Andaman & Nicobar Command, has commissioned the 103rd Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK IV class vessel ‘INLCU L 57’ into the Indian Navy at Port Blair.
• It was the 7th in the series of 8 such vessels being indigenously made by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) for the Navy.

GRSE (Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited):

• Headquarters: Kolkata,West Bengal
• Chairman & Managing Director: Rear Admiral Vipin Kumar Saxena

Appointments:

Zubair Iqbal appointed MD J-K Bank, Chibber to continue as chairman:

• The Jammu and Kashmir administration approved the appointment of senior vice president of HDFC Bank Zubair Iqbal as its new managing director. R K Chibber will continue as the bank’s chairman for the next three years. Iqbal will have a three-year

Jammu & Kashmir Bank:

• Headquarters: Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Tagline: Serving To Empower.

Books and Authors:

Fang Fang’s ‘Wuhan Diary’ offers eyewitness account of life in China during COVID-19 outbreak:

• An eyewitness account of events as they unfolded in Wuhan is now available as an e-book. The book called “Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City” is a compilation of online diary entries and social media posts by Chinese Literary writer Fang Fang.

Union HRD Minister e-Launches “Psycho-Social Impact of Pandemic & Lockdown and How to Cope With”:

• Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Launches print as well as e-editions of the set of seven titles on “Psycho-Social impact of pandemic & lockdown and how to Cope With” under the corona studies series published by National Book Trust India.

National Book Trust of India:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairman: Govind Prasad Sharma.
• Director: Shri Yuvrak Malik.

Obituary News:

Former Miss America, sportscasting pioneer Phyllis Ann George has passed away:

• Phyllis George, a broadcast television pioneer who became the first female co-anchor of the football pregame show “The NFL Today,” has died. She was 70. She had been crowned the 50th Miss America in 1971.

Iran’s OPEC governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili passes away:

• Iran’s OPEC governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili passed away at age 67 after falling into a coma following a brain hemorrhage.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz : May 17 & 18, 2020

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