Current Affairs - May 19, 2018 Current Affairs

The Union Environment Ministry launched the Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP) with an aim to train over 5.5 lakh workers in environment and forest sectors in the country. Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan also launched a related mobile app 'GSDP-ENVIS' to boost employability and entrepreneurship of the youth in the country. The app can be used for information and for applying to the courses. The GSPD-ENVIS app can be downloaded on android mobile phones without any hassle.

International Museum Day was celebrated all over the world on May 18. The International Museum Day is celebrated every year on 18th May since 1977. It is coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). International Museum Day is celebrated every year to create awareness on the importance of museums for the development of society. The theme for International Museum Day 2018 is: "Hyperconnected museums: New approaches, new publics".

Firoz Bakht Ahmed, the noted social activist, educationist and columnist, has been nominated as new Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) for a period of 3 years and he succeeded Zafar Sareshwala. Firoz Bakht is grand nephew of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who was the first education minister of India. He is a prolific writer and authored many books in Urdu and Hindi, especially on Children's literature. He is also a freelance journalist and columnist. He was also associated with Madrassa modernisation and Urdu medium schools upliftment. He was appointed by the courts in various committees/enquiry committees assisting the judicial procedures for prompt justice. Firoz Bakht was also associated with MANUU before its inception in 1997 as foundation panel member.

The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is observed every year on May 17 to raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. The day marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention (ITC) and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The 2018 theme "Enabling the positive use of Artificial Intelligence for All" will focus on the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accelerate the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The BSE has received the recognition certificate of 'Designated Offshore Securities Market' (DOSM) from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This will help in the sale of securities to US investors through the BSE platform without registration of such securities with the US SEC. The BSE becomes the first bourse in India to receive the DOSM recognition.

Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu released two books namely 'A Treatise on Cleanliness' and 'Waste Management, an Introduction', written by Shri Rajat Bhargava, in New Delhi. M. Venkaiah Naidu said that it is apt that the author has selected these subjects at a time when India is going through a phase of growth and development. He said that 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan' is contributing a lot to make India a clean country.

Shivangi Pathak (16) has become the India's youngest women to scale Mt Everest from Nepal side. Born in Hisar of Haryana, Shivangi climbed Mt Everest to spread the message that women could overcome any obstacle to achieve their goals.

Scientists of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in the United States, have founded that, India is one of the places where overuse of water resources has led to a serious decline in freshwater availability. The scientists used data on human activities to map locations where freshwater is changing throughout the world. This is a first-of-its-kind study that used an array of NASA satellite observations of Earth. The study was published in the journal Nature. It revealed that Earth's dry areas are getting drier due to various factors like human water management, climate change and natural cycles. Areas in northern and eastern India, the Middle East, California and Australia are some of the hotspots where freshwater levels are reducing. The scientists used 14 years of observations from the US/German-led Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) spacecraft mission to track global trends in freshwater in 34 regions throughout the world. In northern India, groundwater extraction for irrigation of crops has led to a drastic reduce in available water, in spite of receiving normal rainfall throughout the period studied.

The Gujarat government will launch free treatment scheme for the road accident victims on May 18. Under this scheme, the state government will bear medical expenses of up to Rs 50,000 for each victim of road accident in the state for the first 48 hours. Free treatment includes dressing of wounds, X-ray, blood transfusion, treatment in ICU and MRI, and all other treatment available in a hospital. As per scheme, even people hailing from other states or citizens of other countries will get free treatment regardless of their income if they meet with a road accident and admitted to a government or a private hospital in Gujarat.'

Yudhvir Singh Malik, the Secretary of Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, has been allotted additional charge of the post of NHAI chairman. Yudhvir Singh Malik succeeds Deepak Kumar as the chairman of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). On 17th May 2018, Deepak Kumar was sent back to his cadre state Bihar before finishing his tenure. He is a 1984 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre. He became NHAI Chairman on 28th June 2017.

Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar has been sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of Manipur High Court on May 18, 2018. He was administered the oath of office by Prof. Jagdish Mukhi, the acting governor of Manipur, at the Raj Bhawan in Imphal. Prior to this post, Justice Sudhakar has served as Acting Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court. Now, Justice Alok Aradhe has become the Acting Chief Justice of J & K High Court. Beside him, Justice Mohammad yaqoob Mir has been sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court.

Infosys has formed a blockchain-based trade finance network with 7 private-sector banks, to increase security and efficiency in the banking sector. Blockchain allows all stages of transactions to be securely shared between network members, as opposed to each bank working independently. Lenders currently testing its trade finance network are ICICI, Axis and Yes Bank among others.

Guatemala has opened its embassy in Jerusalem, following in the footsteps of the United States, which recently inaugurated its embassy in the city. Guatemala, the second country to recognise Israel as a state in 1948, has had a long history of military cooperation with Israel. All embassies to Israel were situated in the commercial capital Tel Aviv, before US and Guatemalan embassies moved.

The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for signing of the MoU for cooperation in the legal field between India and Morocco. The MoU will allow both the countries to share their experience and expertise in the field of law and legislation. The MoU will give an opportunity to the Lawyers, Law Officers and law students to discuss issues in the field of law and justice.

Guwahati now has India's first railway station run by solar power. Around 2352 solar modules with a capacity of generating 700 kwp has been set up over the roof of the Guwahati railway station. The solar-powered station is aimed at reducing carbon-footprint as well as cut down power costs drastically. The solar power plant will save Rs 67 lakh worth of electricity.