Current Affairs - May 2, 2018 Current Affairs

The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) and the Indian Yoga Association (IYA) signed a MoU. The MoU will facilitate interaction and cooperation between the two organisations to promote wellness, spiritual and cultural tourism in the Krishna Circuit. Places associated with Lord Krishna constitute the Krishna Circuit in Uttar Pradesh.

India projected to be the second fastest growing country in the world for air passenger traffic. As per the Airports Council International (ACI), by 2022 passenger traffic in emerging economies like India will surpass advanced economies. The ACI, a global trade body representing airports across the globe, has put Vietnam at the top position with an 8.5% growth rate, followed by India at 7.5% and Iran at 7.3%. China placed at the 8th position with 5.9 percent growth rate. It placed the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi among the top twenty busiest airports in the world.

Sitanshu Kar, a 1983-batch Indian Information Service (IIS) officer, has become the principal director general of the Press Information Bureau (PIB). He succeeded Frank Noronha, who had held the post since 2014. Prior to this post, Kar was serving as the AIR's News Services Division (NSD) director general. In a career spanning nearly 35 years, Kar has worked in key positions in various media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Apart from this, he has the distinction of being the longest serving spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence. He served there for over a decade at a stretch.

The International Labour Day, also known as International Worker's Day or May Day, observed every year on May 1 to promote and encourage the international labour associations. The day marks the victory of workers' movement for 8 hours of work. It also aims to pay tribute to workers sacrifices in achieving economic and social rights all over the world. In India, Labour Day is referred to as Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas or Kamgar Din. The first Labour day or May Day was celebrated in the year 1923 in Chennai. The 2018 theme "Uniting Workers for Social and Economic Advancement" motivate workers all over the world to unite for their rights and demand social and economic advancement from the governments and capitalists. The theme also calls upon the labour leaders to collectively fight for the improvement in working conditions and press for decent work.

The 9th India Japan Energy Dialogue was held in New Delhi on May 1, 2018. Both India and Japan with a view to implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the aegis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognized the importance of development and deployment of next generation technologies including hydrogen to realize de-carbonization. Both countries agree to work together for energy security, energy access and climate change issues. They further confirmed their commitment to work together in promoting well-functioning energy markets and affirmed to promote transparent and diversified Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) market through the relaxation of destination clause. They also agree to initiate the discussion on Electric Vehicles (Evs) and commit to work together in promoting well-functioning energy markets.

Number 16 was a female trapdoor spider. It has broken the previous record of a 28-year-old tarantula in Mexico, as per a study published in the Pacific Conservation Biology Journal. Number 16 did not die of old age. It was killed by a wasp sting. Generally, trapdoor spiders have a life span ranging from 5 to 20 years. They are not a major threat to humans, but their bite can cause pain and swelling.

Lewis Hamilton took his first victory of the season at a dramatic and chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was forced to retire with just three laps to go. It was the first victory of the season for champions Mercedes.

The Gujarat Government will start a month-long initiative from May 1 to increase its water conservation capacity. Tasks like deepening ponds, desilting water reservoirs and check dams & repairing Narmada canal networks will be undertaken during the 31-day statewide "Sujalam Sufalam Water Conservation Initiative". The government aims to increase rain water conservation capacity in the state.

Former India batsman and two-time national coach Anshuman Gaekwad and former opener, late Pankaj Roy, have been recommended for the prestigious Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The cash prize for the award is Rs 25 lakh each. The BCCI Annual Awards will be held before the historic Test between India and Afghanistan in Bengaluru.

The next Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in the holy city of Varanasi from January 21 to 23, 2019. The theme of the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is "Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India". The Ministry of External Affairs will also organize four Know India Programmes and online "Bharat Ko Jaaniye Quiz".

The Indian government launched a Pilot Scheme for procurement of aggregate power of 2500 MW on a competitive basis for three years under medium term from commissioned power plants without power purchase agreements. The main purpose of the scheme is to revive commissioned power plants which are unable to sell electricity in the absence of valid power purchase agreements. These plants can bid for power supply under the scheme.

India's junior men's team held their nerves to beat Malaysia 2-1 in the shootout to win the Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers. The victory will give India a chance to participate in the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Buenos Aires in August. The tournament was played in new Hockey 5's format. In the women's final, India lost to China & they ended their campaign as runners-up.

The first-ever joint Army exercise "Harimau Shakti 2018" has started between the troops of the Indian and Malaysian armies at Wardieburn Camp in Kuala Lumpur on April 30. The focus will remain on tactical operations in jungle warfare.The aim of the two-week long exercise is to bolster cooperation and coordination between armed forces of both the nations and to share the expertise of both the contingents in conduct of counter insurgency operations in jungle terrain. Both armies stand to hone their tactical and technical skills in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations under the UN mandate. Overall, the exercise will not only provide an excellent opportunity to both the armies to hone their operational skills but will also contribute to enhance the strategic partnership between India and Malaysia.

Haryana government had decided to adopt startup ranking framework issued by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India. This would help bring to fore progress made by the state for promoting start-up ecosystem & foster competitiveness. The framework is spread across seven areas of interventions with a total of 38 action points and overall score of 100 marks.

Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Uma Bharti, launched the GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) - DHAN scheme at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) Auditorium, Karnal, Haryana. The scheme was launched in the presence of the Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar. The scheme aims to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste. The scheme also aims at creating new rural livelihood opportunities and enhancing income for farmers and other rural people.

Tramadol, a painkiller pharma drug, has been declared as a "psychotropic substance" by the Union Government & its sale in the country will now be strictly monitored. The Union Finance Ministry has brought the drug under the control of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. A gazetted notification to this effect was issued on April 26.