Current Affairs - May 17, 2018 Current Affairs

Mukul Rohatgi, the former Attorney General of India and Senior Counsel, has been appointed as 'eminent jurist' in the high-profile Lokpal selection committee led by the Prime Minister. The post of eminent jurist was lying vacant since the death of senior advocate PP Rao in September 2017. Besides the Prime Minister, the selection committee is composed of the Chief Justice of India and the Lok Sabha Speaker. It will shortlist candidates for the post of the anti-corruption ombudsman and other posts.

Punjab got India's first all-woman Post Office Passport Seva Kendra. The 192nd POPSK of the country and the first one to be operated by an all-women team is located in Phagwara, Punjab. It was inaugurated by Union Minister Vijay Sampla in the local head Post Office of Phagwara. The Post Office Passport Seva Kendra is part of the central government's initiative for women empowerment. It Aimed at providing facilities related to applying for and processing of passport applications for the people, the POPSK is likely to act as a great support for the town as it is the NRI hub of Doaba region of Punjab. Aimed at providing facilities related to applying for and processing of passport applications for the people, the POPSK is likely to act as a great support for the town as it is the NRI hub of Doaba region of Punjab.

Romania's Simona Halep topped the WTA rankings followed by Caroline Wozniacki, Garbine Muguruza, Elina Svitolina.

As per a report by Mercom Communications India, India emerged as the third largest solar market in the world in 2017 behind China and the US. In 2017, India set a new record with 9.6 GW of solar installations, which was more than double the 4.3 GW installed in 2016. On account of this stellar growth, India's total solar installed capacity reached 19.6 GW as of December 2017. Out of the 19.6 GW installation, 92% is on account of large-scale project development.

President Ram Nath Kovind launched Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Antyoday Swarojgar Yojana, Sundar Singh Bhandari EBC (economically backward class) Swarojgar Yojana and Rin Maufi Yojna of Rajasthan State Government. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Antyoday Swarojgar Yojana: loans of up to Rs 50000 on 4% cent interest will be given to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) families for self-employment. Sundar Singh Bhandari EBC (economically backward class) Swarojgar Yojana: a loan of Rs 50000 on 4% interest will be given to economically backward families of the general category. Rin Maufi Yojna: loan waiver scheme of up to Rs 50000 to SC, ST, OBC, sweepers and 'divyang'.

British journalist and former BBC India correspondent Sir William Mark Tully has been selected for this year's RedInk award for lifetime achievement in journalism. The RedInk awards for excellence in journalism are instituted by the Mumbai Press Club. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu will present the award to Sir William Mark Tully on 18th May 2018 in Mumbai. The award is presented to Sir William Mark Tully in recognition of his contribution to Indian journalism. Sir William Mark Tully worked with the BBC for 30 years. He was also the Chief of Bureau, BBC, Delhi. Faye D'Souze, executive editor of Mirror Now channel, has been chosen for the RedInk award for 'journalist of the year'.

Smirti Irani has been moved out of Ministry of Information and Broadcast (I&B). Now she will only be responsible for the textile ministry. Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal has been given the additional portfolios of Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs. He will hold this portfolio till Arun Jaitley recovers from the kidney transplant he underwent recently. SS Ahluwalia has been made the new Minister of State for and Information Technology. He has been relieved from his Minister of State position of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

As per the Swachh Survekshan-2018 results, Indore emerged as the cleanliest city in India. Bhopal has been ranked 2nd and Chandigarh 3rd in the survey at the national level. The announcement was made in New Delhi by Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Besides, Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh is India's cleanest big city with a population of over 10 lakh. Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh is 'Fastest Mover' big city. New Delhi Municipal Council is country's cleanest small city having a population between one lakh to three lakh. The Swachh Survekshan 2018 assessed 4203 urban local bodies and was organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). The exercise was undertaken between 4th January to 10th March 2018. Jharkhand has been declared the best-performing state, followed by Maharashtra.

Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has signed MoU with Union Ministry of Mines, setting highest ever target of Rs 9350 crore revenue for financial year 2018-19. NALCO's revenue target of Rs 9350 crore marks a 15% increment over previous year. In terms of production, target for production of Alumina has been set at 2.1 million tons and for Aluminium production it is 4.15 lakh tonnes. During 2018-19, NALCO will be incurring capital expenditure of Rs.1100 crore, mainly on projects like the 1 million tonne 5th stream of Refinery, wind power projects and modernization & up- gradation of plant equipments.

The Governor of Assam , Prof. Jagdish Mukhi inaugurated the two day regional conference on "Physical and Social Infrastructure for Regional Development" in Guwahati, Assam. This conference was organized by Ministry of Finance, Government of India in association with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) , Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) and FICCI. The Theme of the conference is 'Physical and Social Infrastructure for Regional Development'. This is aimed to bridge the regional disparity through investment in physical and soft infrastructure. Since Assam is at the heart of Centre's Act Easy Policyand it is at close proximity to the neighboring south Asian countries, the focus on investment for thephysical infrastruce will enable better communication with the remote areas and the social infrastructure will be enhanced by providing good health care services and education.

Union Finance Ministry has announced that E-way bill system for intra-state movement of goods valued over Rs 50000 would be rolled out in Assam from May 16, 2018 and in Rajasthan from May 20, 2018. In context of this news, it is important to note that E-way bill system for moving goods worth over Rs 50000 from one state to another has already been rolled out since April 1, 2018. The same for intra or within the state movement has been rolled out in phased manner and so far 18 states, including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar have made e-way bill mandatory for intra-state movement of goods. Till May 13, 2018 more than 4.15 crore e-way bills have been generated, which includes more than 1 crore e-way bills for intra-state movement of goods.

Indian Army Women Officers' Mountaineering Expedition to Mt. Bhagirathi-II (6512 metres) comprising 9 women officers, was flagged off by Director General of Military Training. This expedition is held from 14 May to 11 June 2018. The team has also planned to create a new world record of practicing Yoga at 21000 feet on Yoga Day 2018. This expedition aims to encourage women in the field of adventure. Mt. Bhagirathi-II is located in the Garhwal Himalayas in Gangotri National Park. The peak rises right above the Gangotri glacier. The summit poses challenges to climbers due to technical requirements, vertical ascents, inclement and unpredictable weather conditions.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has placed additional restrictions on Allahabad Bank, which is under prompt corrective action (PCA) since January 2018. RBI has debarred Allahabad bank from high-risk lending and has advised to reduce exposure to unrated and high-risk advances. Allahabad Bank has also been restricted by RBI from creating non-banking assets and accessing or renewing wholesale or costly deposits or certificate of deposits. These actions have been suggested by RBI by considering Allahabad Bank's Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR) and leverage ratio positions. Allahabad Bank is the second lender (after Dena Bank) among the 11 banks under prompt corrective action (PCA) that has been restricted by the RBI from lending to risky assets.

Lewis Hamilton (of Mercedes) won for the second race in succession by dominating an eventful Spanish Grand Prix 2018. Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes stood second in the race. Sebastian Vettel finished fourth in the event.

Netmeds has appointed Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador. Netmeds CEO Pradeep Dadha said that, the company wants people to know that it intends to be a team member to help fight Chronic diseases. Netmeds is promoted by Dadha family. At present it has an inventory of 35,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) of prescription drugs and 5,000 SKUs of OTC (Over-The-Counter) products.

YES Bank and YES Global Institute have launched Agenda 25x25, which pledges to create a synergetic startup environment for budding women entrepreneurs in India. The effort would ensure that by 2025 at least 25% of all entrepreneurs in India are women. The bank made the announcement at the YES Bank - YES Global Institute Annual Startup Conclave hosted in partnership with NITI Aayog, Invest India, Startup India and Atal Innovation Mission. The study outlines Agenda 25?25 and the need to build a 10 Step Developmental Model focused on empowering women innovators.