Daily Current Affairs 3rd May, 2019

Daily Current Affairs 3 May 2019 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

France welcomes 17th edition of Varuna bilateral exercise with India

France welcomed the two-part Varuna bilateral exercise with India, calling it a “swift development” of bilateral relations in the maritime security. The first phase of the exercise, namely Varuna 19.1, began off Goa’s coast on May 1 and is scheduled to culminate on May 10.

• Varuna 19.2, on the other hand, is slated to be held in May-end near Djibouti.

Mangaluru Police Gets An All-women Patrol Unit “Rani Abbakka Force”

Mangaluru City Police has launched an all-women police patrol unit in the city. Flagging off the ‘Rani Abbakka Force’ in Mangaluru, Sandeep Patil, Commissioner of Police, said the Karnataka police is giving utmost importance to the protection of women and children.

• At present, 50 women policewomen have been deployed in ‘Rani Abbakka Force’ in the city, with each patrol team having five policewomen.

BSNL Launches ‘Bharat Fibre’ Broadband Service In Kashmir Valley

State-owned telecom firm BSNL has become the first operator to start optical fibre-based high-speed broadband service in Pulwama with the launch of ‘Bharat Fibre’. This is the first such FTTH (fibre-to-the-home) service deployment in the (Kashmir) Valley under this unique revenue share model. 

• BSNL provides FTTH service with a monthly charge in the range of Rs 777-16,999 in over 160 telecom districts with a minimum speed of 2 megabit per second (mbps).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

UK Parliament 1st In World To Declare Climate Emergency

The UK parliament became the first national legislative body in the world to declare a climate change “emergency”. The historic move closely follows Extinction Rebellion protests that blocked traffic in key parts of central London. 

• The protest had three demands: that the UK government “tell the truth” about climate change, that it achieve carbon neutrality by 2025 and that it create a citizens’ assembly to help with that process. The emergency declaration was proposed by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Huawei Overtakes Apple To Become 2nd Biggest Smartphone Maker

Huawei Technologies Co. overtook Apple Inc. to claim the No. 2 spot in smartphones in the first quarter, moving a step closer to its avowed ambition of displacing Samsung at the top of the market. The networking giant, shrugging off a barrage of accusations that it aids Chinese espionage (which it’s repeatedly denied), grew shipments 50 percent from a year earlier, research firm IDC estimates.

• It was the only name in the top 4 that managed to expand volumes as the overall market slid for the sixth consecutive quarter.
• Extra info.:
  Huawei Headquarters: Shenzhen, China

SPORTS

Bajrang Punia bags gold at Ali Aliev wrestling tournament

World number one Bajrang Punia has become the first Indian to win gold at the Ali Aliev wrestling tournament after defeating Viktor Rassadin of Russia in the 65 kg freestyle in Kapiisk, Russia.

• Bajrang, who is part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program, will now get on the road once again as he heads to New York for the Beat The Streets ‘Grapple At the Garden’ on May 6 at the historic Madison Square Garden arena.

APPOINTMENTS

Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian appointed as member of Advisory Council of 15th Finance Commission

The Chief Economic Advisor to Central government, Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian has been included as the member of the Advisory Council of the Fifteenth Finance Commission. Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian will be the twelfth Member of the Council.

• The role and function of the Council is to advise the Commission on any issue or subject related to the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Commission.

AWARDS

Priyanka, Deepika win Instagrammers of the Year

Actresses Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Deepika Padukone and Sara Ali Khan have won Instagrammers of the Year 2019, which acknowledges Instagram’s most engaging community members across the country. The winners represent individuals who have best embraced Instagram, by using its Stickers, Stories, Feed, Live and IGTV.

• With 39 million followers, a global fan base, and many international projects, Bollywood diva, Priyanka emerged as the ‘Most Followed Account’ this year. Star cricketer Virat Kohli has emerged as the most ‘Engaged Account of the Year’. He provides a sneak peak to the locker room drama, to his gruelling training sessions or an off-field selfie with his wife.

Former ISRO Chairman Awarded France’s Highest Civilian Honour

Former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar was conferred with France’s highest civilian award Chevalier de l’Ordre national de la Lgion d’Honneur for his contribution to India-France space cooperation. On behalf of the President of France, Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler conferred Kumar with the highest civilian honour of France. 

• Created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Ordre national de la Lgion d’Honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honour) is the highest civilian award given by the French for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipient.
• Extra info.:
  ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Press Freedom Day

Each year, May 3 is celebrated as World Press Freedom Day. Started by the UN General Assembly in 1993, on a recommendation from UNESCO, the day is used to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, assess its state around the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have laid down their lives in the exercise of their profession.

• The theme for this year’s World Press Freedom Day is “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation” and it discusses current challenges faced by media in elections, along with the media’s potential in supporting peace and reconciliation processes.

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