Current Affairs - May 24, 2017 Current Affairs

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will jointly develop and launch the world's biggest and most expensive earth imaging satellite costing around $ 1.5 billion. The satellite has been named as Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR).

The United Nations released a first draft nuclear ban treaty banning the possession and use of nuclear weapons and confirms that use of nuclear weapons is a violation of the International Humanitarian Law. his treaty can get opposition from the countries the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel.

IIT Kharagpur's Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness has signed an MoU with Madhya Pradesh government to collaborate on the development of a Happiness Index for measuring the well-being of the people of the state. It will also develop an online screening and assessment system in order to screen.

Six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the United States of America have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Riyadh to curb financing of terror organizations like Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Haqqani network. The MoU signed to establish the Terrorist Financing Targeting Centre (TFTC).

The second prototype of the Light Utility Helicopter(LUH PT2) completed its first flight for 22 minutes in Bengaluru. The aircraft is capable of reaching a maximum height of 6.5 Km and can carry a payload of 400 kg. It is being designed to fly 350 km non-stop at a speed of 220 kilometers per hour.

The world's first operational robot police officer was officially inducted into the Dubai police force at the 4th Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC). Robocop 70 inches tall and weighing nearly 220 pounds and can recognize a person's gestures and body language from nearly five feet away.

The Coal Minister Piyush Goyal launched the Saral Eindhan Vitaran Application (SEVA) the mobile app and the online dashboard monitor the movement of coal from mines allocated to the power sector. The app tracks coal dispatch to 118 power plants through fuel supply agreement (FSA) of around 500 MT.

A young Indian IAS officer, Haulianlal Guite, published a book titled "Confessions of a dying mind: the blind faith of atheism" in New Delhi. The book explores interesting arguments against atheism. It also explores the nature of science, religion, evidence and love. The book explores the nature of science, religion, evidence and even love in light of leading developments.

Bank of Baroda (BOB) and Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) launch its first set of co-branded debit cards for farmers and aimed them to buy agri-inputs through a convenient cashless transaction mechanism, thus providing further thrust to PM Narendra Modi's Digital India programme. wo lakh co-branded debit cards will be issued initially to the farmers beginning with the States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Tata group announced the appointment of Shuva Mandal as Group General Counsel to succeed incumbent Bharat Vasani, who is set to move to a strategic and advisory role.

WHO elected Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as the new Director-General of WHO. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will succeed Dr Margaret Chan. Tedros is a former health and foreign affairs minister from Ethiopia.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism inaugurated an exhibition "Return of the Three Stone Sculptures from Australia to India" in National Museum, Janpath New Delhi. The sculptures were purchased by National Gallery of Australia from the Nancy Wiener, New York in 2007 and Art of the Past, New York, 2005.

India's off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin won the International Cricketer of the Year award at the CEAT Cricket Rating (CCR) International awards 2017. Ashwin has taken 99 wickets in the past 12 months.

Federal Bank, in association with Geojit, has launched a new trading platform called "Selfie" for customers. The trading platform will give its users absolute control over their investments with timely research inputs to make sound investment decisions. It is an advanced charting platform that enables users to trade directly from charts, among others.

Jio Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) film festival announced a new award category for digital content for this year's festival. This will encourage young talent to break the boundaries of their creative ideas and take Indian Cinemas to new and greater heights especially in the digital space.

The world's largest aircraft has successfully completed a test flight,bringing the massive helium-filled airship in Cardington, United Kingdom. It is 92-metre-long and 43.5m wide and designed to fly at altitudes of 6,100 meters and reach speeds of 148 kilometers per hour.

Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman led the Indian delegation to the 3rd RCEP Inter-sessional Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam. RCEP is a mega regional free trade agreement being negotiated amongst 16 countries, comprising 10 ASEAN countries and six ASEAN FTA partners.