Current Affairs - May 7, 2018 Current Affairs

An Exhibition called 'India and the World: A History in Nine Stories' will be inaugurated at the National Museum auditorium, New Delhi by Dr. Mahesh Sharma ,Minister of State for Culture(I/c) and Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This effort made by the British Museum, London; National Museum, New Delhi; and ChhatrapatiShivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai with support of the Culture Ministry. The exhibition evaluates the development of Indian civilization in a sequel order through delicate artifact from India and abroad. 'India and the World: A History in Nine Stories'deeps into two million years of history. This exhibition will be a part of memorial of 70 years of India's independence and a year of major cultural exchange between India and the UK (UK/India 2017).

Indus dolphin is one of the world's rarest mammals found only in India and Pakistan. The first organized census on Indus dolphins are conducting by the Punjab government along with WWF-India. The Indus dolphins are restricted to only a 185 km stretch between Talwara and Harike Barrage in India's Beas River in Punjab. The five day exercise has been conducted to estimate the population of Indus Dolphin by Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation, Punjab and WWF-India are currently working in two teams. The population of the Indus dolphin, platanista gangetica minor, numbers are estimated to be around 1,800 across Pakistan in the Indus river. In India, a tiny population survives in this small stretch of the Beas river.

India finished on top in the 7-nation 3rd South Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the final day. India ended with 20 gold, 22 silver and 8 bronze medals (Total 50 Medals). Sri Lanka bagged rest of the 12 gold medals in the competition along with 10 silver and 19 bronze. Pakistan won one silver and a bronze to settle for the third place. The juniors will next represent India at the 18th Asian Junior Athletics Championships to be held in Gifu, Japan in June 2018.

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), together joined hands to amplify the "Gram Swaraj Abhiyaan" of the current incumbent government which is promoting social harmony and awareness around the pro-poor initiatives of the government. MSDE organized a Kaushal and Rojgar Mela at New Women's College in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, where more than 5000 people from different walks of life participated. More than 29 states of art multi-skill 'Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras' was also launched digitally across the country by Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan.

To develop an innovative biopharmaceutical and medical devices industry in India, Government of India and the World Bank signed an agreement. The aim is to make India a hub for design and development of novel, affordable and effective biopharmaceutical products. The agreement has signed at a cost of USD 250 million for five years with 50 per cent funding through the World Bank Loan. The agreement for the Project was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; Mohd. Aslam, Managing Director, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC); and Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank India, on behalf of the World Bank. It will also encourage to develop promote industry-academia interface and enable start-ups and small and medium enterprises to build innovation research capacities for developing affordable healthcare products.

State-run Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has inked a pact with the Ministry of Power to incur capital expenditure of Rs.25,000 crore for the current fiscal. The MoU includes various targets to be achieved by Powergrid during 2018-19. Other targets in the MoU inter-alia include parameters related to human resources, project management, research & development.

Google India has partnered with Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited to set up Wi-Fi stations in all the Gram Panchayats of the state. It will install 25,000 Wi-Fi hotspots by December 2018. In 2016, Google had installed public Wi-Fi networks at 100 railway stations and is now working to expand the project to as many as 400 stations by 2018 end.

NASA has developed a new kind of reactor to be used for space exploration missions. NASA's Kilopower project works to build the kind of technology that could be used for an affordable fission nuclear power system so astronauts can have longer trips to planets. Kilopower is a small, lightweight fission power system that can deliver 10 kilowatts of electrical power.

The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment organized a 'Cochlear Implant Awareness Programme' at Huda Convention Centre in Faridabad, Haryana. The Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Krishan Pal Gurjar was the Chief Guest in the programme. Under the Assistance to Disabled persons (ADIP) scheme of the DEPwD, there is a provision for Cochlear Implant surgeries of hearing impaired children up to the age of 5 years at the cost of Rs 6.00 Lakhs per unit.

International No Diet Day (INDD) was observed all over the world on May 6th. INDD is a celebration of body acceptance, fat acceptance and body shape diversity. Its symbol is a light blue ribbon. The first International No Diet Day was celebrated in 1992 in the UK. This day promotes a healthy life style. It focuses on health at any size and in creating awareness on dangers of dieting.

To promote gender equality, Chhattisgarh govt has decided to recruit transgenders in the police force. Chhattisgarh is the first state to recruit transgenders for police while Tamil Nadu is the first state to hire India's first transgender police officer. In 2014, Supreme Court declared transgender people as the 3rd gender & ruled that they have equal privilege over the fundamental rights.

The twelfth informal meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers was held in Manila, on the sidelines of the 51st Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB). The meeting was chaired by the Finance Minister of Nepal Yuba Raj Khatiwada. The Finance Ministers/Heads of Delegation briefed the meeting about the current status of economic progress achieved by their countries.

The Swedish Academy has postponed the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature following sex-abuse allegations and other issues within its ranks that have tarnished the body's reputation. The 2018 winner will be presented alongside the 2019 winner next year. It is the first time since wartime 1943 that the prestigious award will not be given.

Neeraj Goyat is the current WBC Asia champion in welter weight category. Neerav Tomar was awarded the 'WBC Asia honorary Promoter of the year 2017 Award' by the Asian Boxing Council. The awards were presented at WBC Asia and WBC Muaythai annual awards presentation ceremony in Bangkok on 30th April 2018. Neerav Tomar is the promoter of IOS Boxing Promotions which manages Neeraj and Vijender Singh.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi organized A Day long National Conference on Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) held in New Delhi in which 244 Districts are selected under this scheme. Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi Addressed the gathering & highlighted that,the goals of BBBP can be achieved when various stakeholders involve in it.She also Suggested Several Initiatives to the Newly Selected Districts by which they can get tremendous Success & improve the Sex Ratio at Birth and initiatives to encourage girl child education. E-magazine to capture the innovations and best practices are also suggested. Earlier 161 Districts had implemented the BBBP Scheme in which,104 Districts improved in Sex Ratio at Birth(SRB),119 Districts had Progressed in Ante Natal Care Registrations & 146 Districts Improved in institutional Deliveries.