Current Affairs - May 24, 2019 Current Affairs

In accordance with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, debit card swipes on Point of Sales (PoS) terminals have been increased over 27% in March 2019 in comparison to the same period of 2018. While, withdrawals from ATM hiked at a low rate of 15%. Debit card payments for merchant transactions have gone up more than 250% between March 2019 and 2016.The usage of Credit cards for PoS transactions mounted 22% versus 2018, as there were 162 million PoS transactions in March 2019 against 127 million in March 2018.

Recently, a policy think tank NITI Aayog has proposed a plan for Artificial Intelligence (AI) by creating a cloud computing platform named AIRAWAT and research institutes. NITI Aayog has circulated a cabinet note to provide Rs 7,500 crore funding for a 3-year period and set up a high-level task force to oversee roll-out and implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The task force will be headed by NITI Aayog member with representation from all ministries and states along with experts from different fields.

Tech Mahindra signed a defence contract worth of Rs 300 crore with Indian Navy. Under 'Armed Forces Secure Access Card' (AFSAC) Project, Tech Mahindra will implement Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based Access Control System across all naval bases and ships. The new Access Control System named 'Armed Forces Secure Access Card' (AFSAC) Card will replace the existing paper-based identity cards for all Navy personnel which also includes dependents and ex-servicemen. Tech Mahindra will develop a secure application which will manage the access control devices, network devices, and the AFSAC Card by using the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) level 5.

Recently, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-46 carrying earth observation satellite RISAT-2B (Radar Imaging Satellite-2B), from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh which will enhance country's surveillance capabilities. The earth observation satellite has equipped with Synthetic Aperture Radar which has the capability of taking high-resolution images of the earth during day and night and also under cloudy conditions which can help in keeping an eye on terror camps across the border in Pakistan. This was PSLV's 48th mission which carried a 615kg satellite. The RISAT-2B satellite will help in fields such as surveillance, agriculture, forestry, and disaster management support. The satellite has a life span of 5 years. It will replace RISAT-2 satellite launched in 2009.

A campaign "Not all animals migrate by choice" was launched by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau of India and UN Environment India in order to raise awareness on illegal wildlife trade ahead of the International Day of Biological Diversity which is observed on May 22. The campaign is aimed at creating awareness among the general public for the protection and conservation of wildlife, prevention of smuggling and reduction in demand for wildlife products. It complements worldwide action on illegal trade in wildlife through UN Environment's global campaign, Wild for Life. It is to be displayed at major airports across the country.

The HDFC group has overtaken the 151-year-old Tata group to emerge as India's most valuable by way of market capitalization (m-cap). The combined market value of the five listed companies of the HDFC group - HDFC, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, HDFC Asset Management and Gruh Finance stood at Rs 11.66 lakh crore while the combined m-cap of 29 Tata group companies stood at Rs 11.64 lakh crore, about Rs 2,000 crore less than that of the HDFC group.

In Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Chief Jagan Mohan Reddy will be sworn in as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh on 30th of May at Vijayawada. Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced this following his party achieving inching towards a landslide victory in the legislative elections for Andhra Pradesh Legislative assembly. Once sworn in, he will replace N Chandrababu Naidu has resigned as Andhra Pradesh CM.

Sculptor Anish Kapoor ranked first on Hurun India Art List 2019 with estimated sales of Rs. 168.25 crore. Hurun India Art List 2019 was released by Hurun Research Institute. The ranking of the top 50 Indian artists alive based on the sales of their works at public auctions from April 2018 to March 2019. The next positions were held by Akbar Padamsee whose 38 works were sold for Rs. 45.84 crore. He was followed by Krishen Khanna with sales of 44 works of Rs. 9.48 crore.

Volodymyr Zelensky took the oath of office as the president of Ukraine and immediately announced that he is dissolving the Verkhovna Rada, the country's parliament. In his inaugural speech, Zelensky called for the dismissal of several top security officials. He has replaced Petro Poroshenko.

The USA's House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi received John F Kennedy (JFK) Profile in Courage Award 2019. She is honoured for her efforts to pass 2010 health care law of former President Barack Obama's governance and for helping Democrats reclaim control of the U.S. House during 2018 elections. She has presented the award at John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on May 19, 2019. She has served USA's House of Representatives since 1987.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test fired the aerial version of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile from a Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The test marked a major milestone to enhance its precision strike capability. The capability of the missile coupled with the superlative performance of the Su-30MKI aircraft gives the IAF the desired strategic reach.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj represented India in the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. During the meet, she discussed several pressing issues including the threat of terrorism are expected to be discussed. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also attended the meeting.

Bharti AXA Life Insurance, a private life insurer, has been conferred with the FICCI Claims Excellence Award. The recognition comes for its customer-friendly claims services in the life insurance sector. The insurer improved its individual claim settlement ratio, the number of claims paid to the number of claims received, to 96.85% in the financial year 2017-18.

The 5th Smart Cities India 2019 expo, including Transport India, Solar India, Buildings India and Water India expos, was inaugurated by Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoUHUA) at the Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Organised by India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) and Exhibitions India Group, the event builds upon Government of India's 'Smart Cities Mission' through a display of a vast array of products and solutions relevant to building smart cities in India.

Group of researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) has developed the microscope for performing surgery without cutting skin. It was published in the journal "Science Advances" titled "Precise closure of single blood vessels via multiphoton absorption-based photothermolysis".The device is a specialized type of multiphoton excitation microscope that allows imaging of living tissue up to about one millimeter in depth using an ultrafast infrared laser beam, that can both scan skin and perform surgery by intensifying the heat its beam produces.

Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced that it has signed an agreement to provide USD 750 million equivalent in Indian rupee long-term financing to electrify railway tracks in India. It is the largest single non-sovereign loan ever committed by ADB to Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) to fund the railways track electrification project.

Ruskin Bond, on his 85th birthday launched new memoir titled "Coming Round the Mountain". India's beloved children's author officially released the book at Cambridge bookstores in Mussourie, Uttarakhand. The book has been published by Penguin India. "Coming Round the Mountain" is the third installment of Ruskin Bond's award-winning memoir series for children, prior being "Looking for the Rainbow" and "Till the Clouds Roll By". This book will deal with Bond's story as a boy of thirteen during the crucial year of India's partition. ii. Other books written by Ruskin Bond include " The Room on the Roof", " The Blue Umbrella", "A Flight of Pigeons", " Rusty, the Boy from the Hills", " A Handful of Nuts" and many more.

Karnataka Bank launched a customized product for the salaried class. The new savings bank product, KBL SB Salary has been designed with three variants namely SB Salary Executive, SB Salary Prime, and SB Salary Classic to cater the financial needs of the 'employer-employee ecosystem'. All three variants do not have the minimum balance criteria instead they have Digitally Powered features.

According to Commerce Ministry data, India's export has grown by 1.34% in April 2019 to USD 44.06 billion meanwhile imports has grown by 4.53 % to USD 52.83 billion. Thus, the trade deficit is USD 8.78 billion in April 2019 as compared to USD 7.07 billion in April 2018. The commodity which India has exported to other country was petroleum products, electronic goods, organic and inorganic chemicals, readymade garments of all textiles, drugs and pharmaceuticals.

Indian Naval Ship Saryu participated in 8th Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR). The CORPAT initiative was first started in 2013.The Myanmar delegation was led by Commodore Htein Win, Ayeyarwady Naval Command and Indian delegation was led by Cmde Ashutosh Ridhorkar, VSM, Naval Component Commander.The ships of both countries will patrol along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) of two countries covering a distance around 725 km in 4 days.