Current Affairs - May 15, 2018 Current Affairs

The states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Uttarakhand agreed to implement the ambitious national health protection mission, which aims to provide an annual coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family. The four states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh inked MoUs with the Union Health Ministry for the implementation of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission. Union Health Minister J P Nadda presided over the MoU signing ceremony at a regional workshop for northern states in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

The information and broadcasting ministry will set up a dedicated web portal to disseminate information on filming facilities available in the country. The portal will also provide an overview of such locations. Applications for shooting permission will be accepted through the site. The portal will allow online payments and issuing permissions.

Paytm has introduced automatic recurring payments, a new feature that lets users configure the payments app to pay for periodic recurring expenses automatically. Similar to standing instructions for bank accounts, the 'My Payments' feature can be used for high-value payments for a variety of cases. Company expects the feature to significantly boost bank-to-bank transactions on the Paytm app.

Union Cabinet has approved a MoU b/w India & South Asian Cooperative Environment Programme for co-operation in response to oil & chemical pollution in South Asian seas. The MoU aims to promote closer cooperation b/w India & other South Asian nations for protection & preservation of marine environment in the region. Indian Coast Guard on behalf of centre will be responsible for cooperation.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has sent the 1st cargo vessel with 2 million barrels of crude oil for India's strategic petroleum reserve. ADNOC will use part of the crude oil to supply its customers, while the rest will remain as strategic storage for Govt of India to be released in event of an emergency. This will be the 1st such investment by any foreign company in an Indian SPR facility.

Maharashtra govt has signed a MoU with Centres Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) Council to train state PWD officials to rate govt buildings. With this, Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to sign such a MoU. As per the agreement, the GRIHA Council would train PWD's civil & electrical engineers & architects to rate govt buildings as per its parameters.

China's first domestically developed aircraft carrier "Type-001A" has recently started sea trials. The aim of trials is to demonstrate the reliability and capability of the ship's propulsion systems. The 50,000-metric tonne vessel will become the country's second aircraft carrier, and the first to be entirely built and designed inside of China, when it joins the navy before 2020. Few countries in the world have aircraft carriers. Besides India, the US, Russia, the UK, France, Italy, Thailand and China operate a total of 18 aircraft carriers.

President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the Global Exhibition on Services-2018 in Mumbai this morning. He will also launch 12 champion sectors in services. 25 Indian states and around 100 countries are expected to participate in Global Exhibition on Services, this year, with 625 exhibitors and 500 overseas delegates. The event will also feature roundtables and seminars, state investment summits, Business-to-business meetings, an exhibition of key services sectors, cultural activities, country and international pavilions, among others. He will also visit the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, where he will be attending an exhibition on Department of Atomic Energy technologies and inaugurate DAE facilities in Trombay, Mumbai.

Ace Indian shooter Heena Sidhu secured the gold medal in the 10-meter air pistol category of the international shooting competition of Hannover, marking a strong build-up to next week's ISSF World Cup in Munich. Heena was in a carefree form in the final where she was tied with France's Mathilde Lamoille on 239.8 points. She won the tie to win the gold ahead of Mathilde. While Shri Nivetha finished on 219.2. After beginning with a series of scores in the 9s, Heena switched gears and scored 10 and above steadily to break away from the field. Her second series produced consistent 10s and she even hit a perfect 10.9 in the elimination round to put herself in contention for gold.

The World Bank (WB) is going to provide Bangladesh with a grant to meet the basic needs of around one million Rohingyas who fled from Myanmar. A WB team will be visiting Bangladesh to discuss the issue with the government. As per the WB's conditions, the entire fund that the WB has finally agreed to provide Bangladesh with will have to be spent for the Rohingyas only.

A state-run Chinese bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) launched the country's first India-dedicated publicly offered investment fund, saying the Indian market offers the best opportunity for Chinese investors due to the prospects of double-digit growth. The fund, named the ICBC Credit Suisse India Market Fund, will invest in exchange-traded funds listed on more than 20 exchanges in Europe and the US that are based on the Indian market. It is China's first publicly offered fund for investing in India. The fund will invest in the future of the Indian economy and track the distribution of the industrial structure across the Indian market.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) will add 30 Doppler radars in the next two-three years across the country. Doppler radars provide precise information about thunderstorms, dust storms, hailstorms, rainfall and wind patterns. With a radius of 250km, they help in issuing nowcasts 2-3 hours prior to severe weather events. The first Doppler radar was installed in Chennai in 2002.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will set up a skill development centre at 'Bharosa,' an integrated support centre for distressed women and children in Hyderabad, Telangana. The purpose of the centre is to empower vulnerable and marginalized women by imparting skills training. 'Bharosa,' is a state-of-the-art centre set up by the Hyderabad City Police to support women and children who are victims of violence. 'Bharosa' provides under one roof, 24X7 services related to police, medical, legal, prosecution, psycho-therapeutic counselling and relief and rehabilitation services in completely private counselling rooms to maintain confidentiality and privacy. The centre is equipped with well-trained staff and modern gadgets, including facilities like video conferencing, so that the victims need not go to the court.

Petra Kvitova outlasted her Dutch opponent Kiki Bertens 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-3 in the finals to clinch the third Madrid Open title. Kvitova, the victor in Spain in 2011 and 2015, becomes the first woman to win the tournament three times. Kvitova has now claimed four titles in 2018 after triumphs in St Petersburg, Doha and Prague.

The International Day of Families is observed on the 15th of May every year. In 1993, the General Assembly of United Nations decided that 15 May of every year should be observed as The International Day of Families. This day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase the knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families. This year (2018), the theme for the event is 'Families and inclusive societies'.