Daily Current Affairs 18th May, 2018

Daily Current Affairs 18 May 2018 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

India to Host Maiden Female Global DJ Championships

The grand finale of the “Queen of Mashups”, a unique global female Disc Jockeys (DJs) Championship is scheduled to be held on August 15, 2018 at the J W Marriott, Sahar Mumbai.

• Queen of Mashups, an exclusive platform where female DJs get an opportunity to perform and showcase their talent in front of the world.
• The international event will witness DJs from nine countries participating in the global final.
• “SOS Nitelife”, a specialised event management company, will be exclusively managing the gala championship which will be judged by a panel of renowned DJs and musicians.

Himachal Launches Riverfront Cleaning Campaign

The Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment (HIMCOSTE) in support with the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change has launched a 20-day Riverfront Cleaning Campaign.

• The campaign will cover three districts — Mandi, Kullu and Bilaspur.
• The campaign envisages involving over 1,000 schoolchildren of eco clubs under the National Green Corps Programme and a World Wide Entertainment (WWE) former champion as the brand ambassador.

Delhi cabinet gives in-principle approval for 1,000 cluster buses

The Delhi Cabinet has given in-principle approval to procure 1,000 buses under a cluster scheme due to shortage of buses in the city, subject to a nod from the Supreme Court and the High Court.

• The buses will be equipped with CCTV cameras, inbuilt GPS and anti-skid safety feature. To ensure security for women, there will be panic buttons after every three seats.

Himachal govt sanctions Rs 25 cr for renovating Bantony Castle 

The Himachal Pradesh government will spend Rs 25 crore on renovating and developing the historic British Raj ‘Bantony Castle Estate’ as a major tourist attraction.

• The castle was one of the historic and monumental buildings of Shimla town with a very rich history.
• The Bantony Castle, owned by a business family and housing the state police headquarters, was acquired by the government for Rs 27.84 crore two years ago.

Cyclone Sagar: IMD issues advisory to 5 states, 1 Union Territory

The India Meteorological Department has issued an advisory to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and the Lakshadweep archipelago over cyclonic storm ‘Sagar’.

• The cyclonic storm lay centered over the Gulf of Aden, about 390 km east-northeast of Yemen’s Aden city and 560 km west-northwest of Socotra Islands.

Union Environment Ministry Launches Green Skill Development Programme 

The Union Environment Ministry has launched its full fledged Green Skill Development Programme(GSDP) to train over 5.5 lakh workers in environment and forest sectors in the country through 30 courses by 2021.

• Environment minister Harsh Vardhan also unveiled a related mobile app (GSDP-ENVIS) to help boost employability and entrepreneurship of the youth in the country.

Cabinet Approves Development of Infra Components for ‘Freight Village’ in Haryana

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the development of trunk infrastructure components for the integrated multi-modal logistics hub known as ‘Freight Village’ at Nangal Chaudhary in Haryana under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project.

• The trunk infrastructure components include roads and services, building complex, water, sewage and common effluent treatment plant.
• The development of the Freight Village in Haryana will be on a 886.78 acres of land plot which will be implemented by the project Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in two phases.
• A financial sanction of Rs 1,029.49 crore for development of Phase I and in-principle approval for development of Phase-II of the project has also been given by the CCEA.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

China Launches First Privately Developed Rocket

China has launched its first privately developed rocket which travels 5.7 times faster than the speed of sound, marking an important milestone in the country’s aerospace sector.

• “Chongqing Liangjiang Star,” was developed by OneSpace Technology, a Beijing-based private company. This is the first commercial rocket developed by the firm.

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI modifies rules for setting up IFSC Banking Units

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has modified some of its “terms and conditions” based on the suggestions received from the stakeholders for setting up of IFSC (International Financial Services Centres) Banking Units (IBUs).

• With a view to enabling IBUs to start their operations, the parent bank will be required to provide a minimum capital of $20 million or equivalent in any foreign currency to its IBU which should be maintained at all times.

RBI issues guidelines on NSFR 

The RBI has issued detailed Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) guidelines to ensure that banks maintain a stable funding profile in relation to the composition of their assets and off-balance sheet activities.

• The guidelines on Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) are in line with global norms prescribed by the Basel Committee.
• The NSFR would be applicable for Indian banks at the solo as well as consolidated level. For foreign banks operating as branches in India, the framework would be applicable on stand-alone basis (for Indian operations only).
• In the backdrop of the global financial crisis that started in 2007, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) proposed certain reforms to strengthen global capital and liquidity regulations with the objective of promoting a more resilient banking sector.

RBI imposed penalty on Cooperative bank

The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 5.00 lakh on United Co-operative Bank Ltd., West Bengal for violations/non-adherence of RBI guidelines as mentioned in Master Circular on Area of Operation, Branch Authorisation Policy, Opening/ Up-gradation of Extension Counters, ATMs and Shifting/Splitting/Closure of Offices dated July 1, 2015, and Section 35(2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (AACS).

ECONOMY NEWS

India to be fastest growing economy: UN raises growth rate to 7.6%

India remains the world’s fastest growing major economy in the UN’s latest survey of the global economy.

• Based on the update to the “World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018 report“, UN has raised India’s growth rate prospects to 7.5 per cent for this year and 7.6 per cent for the next year because of “robust private consumption”, supportive fiscal policies and benefits from past reforms.

WPI inflation rises to 3.18 % in April 

According to government data, Inflation based on wholesale prices shot up to 3.18 percent in April on increasing prices of petrol and diesel as well as fruits and vegetables.

• The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation stood at 2.47 per cent in March and 3.85 per cent in April last year.

SPORTS

1st Para-National Games to be Held Under Khelo India Scheme 

The first Para-National Games for differently abled athletes will be held under Khelo India scheme in June-July 2018 in Bengaluru. The multi-sports event is going to be conducted under Paralympic Committee of India.

• The games will be considered as the selection trial of the Para Asian Games to be held in Indonesia in October 2018.
• Age group of 16 to 40 (men and women) are invited to take part in 10 disciplines such as Para-athletics, Badminton, Chess, Blind judo, Para powerlifting, Shooting para-sport, Para-swimming, Table tennis, Wheelchair basketball, Wheelchair fencing

APPOINTMENTS

Amit Khare to be new I&B Secretary 

In a major bureaucratic reshuffle involving 24 top IAS officers, the Centre has appointed senior IAS officers Amit Khare as the new secretary in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

Khare, a 1985-batch IAS officer will take over the charge from incumbent NK Sinha who superannuates on May 31.

Other major appointments includes,
Anup Wadhawan-Commerce Ministry Secretary;
MM Kutty-Petroleum Ministry Secretary;
Binoy Kumar -Steel Ministry Secretary;
Heera Lal Samariya-Ministry of Labour & Employment Secretary;
Deepak Khandekar -Ministry of Tribal Affairs Secretary;
Pushpa Subramanyam Ministry of Food Processing Industries Secretary.

Hungary’s re-elected PM Orban forms fourth government

Hungary’s new parliament re-elected Viktor Orban as the Prime Minister for his fourth term who won the general elections with 49.42 per cent of the vote, at 81 per cent of the votes counted by the National Election office.

• President Janos Ader thus appointed the ministers of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s fourth ministry by giving the 13 ministers their credentials at the appointment ceremony.
• According to the Hungarian Constitution, the President of the republic appoints the ministers based on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, and the government is automatically formed with the appointment.

AWARDS

Sridevi Posthumously Honoured at 71st Cannes Film Festival

Iconic actress Sridevi was posthumously honoured at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai received the award on her behalf.

• Sridevi was honoured with the TITAN Reginald F. Lewis Film Icon Award, which celebrates women of the film industry all over the world and also salutes the multicultural impact on the film industry.

Anindita honoured with Jayadev Rastriya Yuva Puraskar award

US-based Kathak dancer Anindita Anaam was honoured with the prestigious ‘Shri Jayadev Rastriya Yuva Pratibha Puraskar 2018’ for outstanding contribution to the field of art.

• The award was presented to the Kathak exponent during the four days ‘Jayadev International Dance Festival’ in Bhubaneswar, Odisha under the aegis of Odisha’s culture department and National Culture Mission.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Hypertension Day observed May 17

World Hypertension Day is observed every year on May 17, to raise awareness and promote hypertension prevention, detection and control.

• The day is organised by the World Hypertension League (WHL) and was first celebrated on 14th May in the year 2005.
• The theme for World Hypertension Day is Know Your Numbers.

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