Current Affairs - May 10, 2019 Current Affairs

Engineers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) have developed a microprocessor called AJIT which could reduce the country's dependence on imports. It is the first to be conceptualised, designed, developed and manufactured in India. The project was funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and IIT Bombay. Powai Labs, a Mumbai-based company, has invested in the venture. It will own, market and support the product. India's electronics market is expected to reach $400 billion by 2020. Most of the electronic devices that are used are imported and only a quarter of the devices are produced in the country.

Justice (Retired) KS Radhakrishnan, a former Supreme Court judge, was on May 8, 2019 appointed as the Member of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal of London. He will serve a 4-year term from June 1, 2019 to May 31, 2023 as a Member of the Tribunal. The Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal resolves disputes of the Commonwealth organisations, international or intergovernmental.

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), under the Ministry of Finance, is organizing the World Customs Organisation (WCO) for Asia-Pacific region in Kochi, Kerala from 8th to 10th May 2019. As India currently holds a seat of Vice Chairperson of Asia Pacific region, it is hosting this meeting in this capacity. Pranab Kumar Das, Chairman of CBIC will chair the meeting. It will discuss the progress being made in carrying forward various initiatives and programmes of WCO, in promoting, securing and facilitating cross-border trade in the Asia Pacific region. Participants include customs delegations from over 20 countries of Asia Pacific region and senior officials of WCO and its regional bodies namely Regional Intelligence Liaoning Office (RILO) and Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB).

World Thalassaemia Day 2019 was celebrated on May 8 worldwide with a theme of "Universal Access to Quality Thalassaemia Healthcare Services: Building Bridges with and for Patients". The purpose of this day is to honour all patients of thalassaemia and their wards who never gave up despite all odds and also to support researchers who are striving to create an improved quality of life for people with thalassaemia across the world. To celebrate this day, Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF) organised 3 online competitions worldwide with a certain theme. This online competition will include a video challenge, a photo contest, and a story competition.

Tractor-manufacturer Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) Ltd has signed an MoU with Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) to aid conservation of resources. Under the MoU, the association plans to jointly conduct agricultural workshops by involving TAFE's dealership network. The workshop would help spread awareness on the advantages of better maintenance and upkeep of the tractors, resulting in lesser fuel consumption and maximising productivity, among others.

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) acquired British toy retailer Hamleys in a all cash deal on May 09, 2019. As per the RIL announcement they have acquired Hamleys in 67.96 million pounds (about Rs. 620 cr). With this announcement Reliance will get hold of hundred percent shares of Hamleys Global Holdings Limited (HGHL). Hamley was owned by Chinese fashion conglomerate C Banner International since 2015.

India has inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ISE Foods, Japan's largest egg producer. The objective is to improve the quality of eggs, disease diagnosis and waste management in poultry farms across India. ISE Foods will establish two poultry farms in India out of which first will be in Gujarat's Surat city and second will be in Telangan's Siddipet.The egg production process used by ISE Foods is fully automated, the chickens are totally antibiotic-free and ISE's production process is considered the most hygienic in the world.ISE Foods also regulates "ISE Integration System" which supervise the production of feed, poultry farming, egg collection, packing and delivery production to control quality.

Rakesh Sharma, Bajaj Auto Executive Director and also a representative of SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures) has been elected as VP (Vice President) of IMMA, International Motorcycle Manufactures Association (based in Geneva) during the annual general meeting of (IMMA) at Yogyakarta in Indonesia. Rakesh Sharma has a wide range of experience in 2 and 3-wheeler industry and he is expected to efficiently direct IMMA towards being the trusted motorcycle manufacturers worldwide.IMMA's president is Johannes Loman.

India and China signed a protocol for the export of Indian chilli meal to China. This is the fourth protocol signed between the two nations over the past year allowing the export of farm commodities from India. They agreed to resolve market access issues expeditiously in order to achieve the vision of the leaders of both India and China by promoting a more balanced trade. At the end of the meeting, a protocol was signed for export of chilli meal from India to China. The protocols for export, signed since June 2018, include those for basmati and non-basmati rice, fish meal and oil and tobacco leaves.

Researchers at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai have identified a new function for Serotonin, a monoamine neurotransmitter. The serotonin may help treat neurological diseases.The results of the study were published in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)".A research paper jointly led by Vidita A. Vaidya and UllasKolthur-Seetharam from TIFR, in collaboration with Ashok Vaidya from KHS (Kasturba Health Society), had found that stress buster Serotonin is involved in the generation of new mitochondria in neurons, increased cellular respiration and fuel (ATP- adenosine triphosphate) in the cell.The recent discovery establishes that serotonin signaling could be used to prevent mitochondrial abnormalities and neuronal loss.

India's first natural Ice Cafe has started at a height of 14,000 feet in Leh, Ladakh at J&K. The ice cafe is located on the Manali-Leh Highway. It is created by natural process by the Border Road Organisation (BRO) officials, with the help of some locals during winters. It is built in the shape of a mound with the purpose of saving water in winter and using it later for irrigation purposes when the ice melts in spring. The cafe utilises the same concept as used by Sonam Wangchuk for his ice stupa project in Ladakh and has been attracting a large number of tourists.

Social media giant Facebook chose London as the centre for rolling out digital payments service WhatsApp Pay globally. With this move, WhatsApp, a cross-platform mobile messaging application, is expected to hire more staff to manage the payments service. Currently, WhatsApp has around 400 employees globally.

The Chhattisgarh police for the first time has inducted women commandos in the District Reserve Guard (DRG), its frontline anti-Naxal force. Comprising 30 women led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Dineshwari Nand, have received extensive training in jungle combat. With the induction of the women commando contingent, the number of platoons of the DRG in Dantewada now stands at six.

Commerce Ministry, Indian High Commissions and embassies of 11 African nations organized a 2-day, (that is on May 3rd and May 6th) long interaction to deepen the India-Africa trade relations. This was arranged over Digital Video Conference (DVC) and was attended by more than 400 members of the Indian business community in Africa. The interactions with the Indian Diaspora were held in 11 African nations, namely, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, and Mauritius, Nigeria, Mozambique, Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, and Madagascar, to construct an efficient engagement with the Indian Diaspora in Africa. This initiative gives more focus on the requirement for a multi-faceted strategy to enhance trade and investment between India and Africa.

India's first Fintech (Financial technology) start-up enabling payments via interoperable UPI(Unified Payments Interface) QR (Quick Response) codes, BharatPe notified its venture into merchant services by launching a new app UPI Bahi Khata that allows merchants to keep a track of their cash/credit (Udhar) sales customer wise, to request the accounts receivable from customers through SMS (Short Message Service) payment links or through WhatsApp and to record accounts that are payable to suppliers. The newly launched app also helps the merchants to network and collaborate with other BharatQR merchants near them to expand their businesses. The major features on BharatPe app for merchants are: UPI Khata (Ledger), Managing Supplier Bills, Cashback, Settlements and Refer and Earn.

Max Life Insurance Co Ltd has notified that it will commemorate the 6th day of each month as 'Protection Day'. The main objective of this initiative was to raise awareness on financial protection. The decision came with the Company's launch of Max Life India Protection Quotient survey conducted in collaboration with Kantar IMRB. It denoted that the extent to which the Indians feel protected from financial uncertainties is extremely low, and that level was as 35.

India's first Nobel laureate who reshaped Bengali literature and music, Rabindranath Tagore was also an educationist who started the Vishwa Bharati University in Shantiniketan, and in the process, challenged conventional mores of education. Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary is also known as Pochise Boishakh 2019.

Renowned economist Baidyanath Mishra passed away due to old-age related problems. He was 99. Mishra had started his career as a lecturer in Ravenshaw University in Cuttack in 1949. He was vice-chancellor of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) from 1981 to 1985. He was also the chairman of the State Planning Board from 1985 to 1990.

Chris Gayle has been appointed as the vice-captain of the West Indies World Cup team that will be led by Jason Holder. The 39-year-old Jamaican, who will retire from the One-day International (ODI) format of the game following the Cricket World Cup 2019 expressed his gratitude and support to the team.

The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate in Dubai have issued cautionary warning to the Indians seeking jobs in the UAE, saying that they must authenticate their employment offers and permit visas before arriving in the country.