Current Affairs - May 21, 2018 Current Affairs

The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. The Japanese family drama Shoplifters has received the coveted award for best film, the 'Palme d'Or', at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. 'Shoplifters' has been hailed as a modest masterpiece from a veteran filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda that centres on a small-time thief who takes a young girl home to his family.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 330-MW Kishenganga hydel power project in Srinagar. Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Jitendra Singh were present on the occasion. The project has been built by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation in north Kashmir's Bandipora district. It has been constructed at a cost of 5200 crore rupees. It is expected to generate 1,713 million units of electricity per annum. Jammu and Kashmir would get 12 percent of power from the project.

Anil Kumar Jha was appointed as the chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of Coal India Limited (CIL). Anil Kumar Jha is currently the CMD of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. He has been appointed as the chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of Coal India Limited till his superannuation on 31st January 2020.

Amit Khare was appointed secretary to the information and broadcasting ministry. Amit Khare is a 1985-batch IAS officer. Currently, he is serving in Jharkhand, his cadre state. He will take charge as secretary to the information and broadcasting ministry from incumbent N K Sinha, who will superannuate on 31st May 2018.

Justice C K Prasad is likely to become the chief of Press Council of India for the second time. A committee of three members headed by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu has given their approval for his appointment for a second term. He has been the chief of PCI for three yearsfrom November 2014. He has earlier replaced Justice Markaday Katju.

The Haryana Government will launch the 'Chatra Parivahan Suraksha Yojana' to ensure safety of girl students. For facilitating women, the state government has opened women police stations in districts. Besides, women help desks have also been set up. Earlier, women constituted 6% of the police force which has now been increased to 9% by the present government. Now, it has been decided to further increase this percentage to 11.

The Minister of IT, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development of Andhra Pradesh Shri Nara Lokesh has received an award for 'Digital Leader of the Year'. This award was given during the Businessworld Digital India Summit Award 2018 held in New Delhi. This award was announced for the best utilization of technology governance and Nara Lokesh got it for development of the rural sector and water supply departments. The state Panchayat Raj and Rural Water Supply Department officials have won another award for the ultramodern tracking system for water supply program.

Rajinder Singh was named Hockey India's president. Prior to this he was the Senior Vice President of Hockey India. He will replace Mariamma Koshywho resigned recently. He was earlier the Treasurer of HIand currently serves as the Treasurer of Hockey Jammu & Kashmir.

Tripura Horticulture Corporation Limited (THCL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Spicejet Merchandise Pvt Ltdto boost pineappe export to provide pineapples to the majority of the country and help the farmers profit ratio. The'Queen' variety of pineapples is considered as the pride of Tripura and approximately, more than 1 lakh metric of 'Queen' and 'Kue' pineapple is produced in Tripura annually. This MOU was done to export the fruit not only to the rest of the country but also to the middle-east. Pineapple is one of the major fruit crops in terms of area and as per the statistics, the productivity of pineapple per hectare is 18.73 tonnes, which is higher than the national average of 15.80 tonnes.

A workshop on challenges and opportunities of arbitration in SAARC region was held in New Delhi. Workshop on Challenges and Opportunities of Arbitration in SAARC region was conducted in collaboration with FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), ICA (Indian Council of Arbitration) and SAARC Arbitration Council. The workshop aims to focus on the role SARCO (SAARC Arbitration Council) in the SAARC region. Discussions on judicial role in the arbitration of the SAARC region was the main focus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) held an emergency meeting to discuss on the outbreak of Ebola in Congo. WHO has declared the risk to the public in Congo "very high" and the regional risk "high". Over 4,000 doses of vaccine have arrived in Congo.

Amitabh Bachchan has been honoured by European Union for strengthening Europe-India cultural ties. Bachchan, whose last release "102 Not Out", co-starring Rishi Kapoor, was well-received by critics as well as audiences, will next be seen in "Thugs of Hindostan".

The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which had conceived and designed the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, has set the ball rolling for building the next generation defense aircraft, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), by extending an invitation to private players in Coimbatore to build a technology demonstrator. The proposal is not only the first time an indigenous military aircraft programme is seeing the involvement of private players, but it is also the first time a defense plane development project is proposed to be executed outside Bengaluru. The project to be implemented in Sulur in Coimbatore district which may house the permanent base of the Tejas squadron marks Tamil Nadu's first major defense aircraft project.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu launches LED Solar Street Lighting System in 4 Districts. Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh launches the Scheme by dint of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD),which Sanctioned the Scheme Under its Rural Infrastructure Development Fund. he NABARD has given a total amount of Rs 87.83 lakh for implementing LED Solar Street lighting System in the State.

Russia unveiled the world's first floating nuclear power station at a ceremony in the port of the city of Murmansk where it will be loaded with nuclear fuel before heading to eastern Siberia. It will be primarily used to power oil rigs & supply electricity and heat to the most remote regions, supporting also growth and sustainable development. This is called Akademik Lomonosovwas built by Rosatom in Saint Petersburg. It is a 144 by 30 metre (472 by 98 foot) ship holds two reactors with two 35 megawatt nuclear reactors. It is a 21,000-tonne barge that will produce enough electricity to power a town of 200,000 residents, far more than the 5,000 live in Pevek, Russia.

South Korea has lifted the title for the third time after having won it in 2010 and 2011. India, on the other hand, finished second best for the second time after having lost to Japan in the final of the 2013 edition. Indian striker Vandana Katariya was declared player of the tournament while youngster Lalremsiami was named as the upcoming player of the tournament.