Daily Current Affairs 15th May, 2018

Daily Current Affairs 15 May 2018 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Reshuffles Cabinet

In a surprise move Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a minor ministerial reshuffle his Cabinet on May 14.

  • Smriti Irani was removed of the high-profile information and broadcasting ministry and is now only in charge of textiles ministry.
  • Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has being given independent charge of the prestigious Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry in place of Irani while continuing as Sports Minister.
  • Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has been given the additional charge of the Finance Ministry till Arun Jaitley, who underwent a kidney surgery, recovers.
  • S S Ahluwalia, who was until recently the Minister of State for Drinking Water & Sanitation, has been assigned the portfolio of Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.
  • Alphons Kannanthanam has been relieved as Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. He continues as Minister of State for Tourism.

President Kovind inaugurates Global Exhibition on Services-2018

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the 4th Global Exhibition on Services-2018 and launched a portal on 12 Champion Sectors in Services in Mumbai on May 15, 2018.

4 states ink MoUs with Centre on health protection mission

Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Uttarakhand along with the Union Territory of Chandigarh agreed to implement the ambitious national health protection mission, which aims to provide an annual coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family.

  • The historic MoU under Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission, by the states and Union Territory was inked with the Union Health Minister J P Nadda at a regional workshop for northern states here.

India releases grant for river training & construction of embankments in Nepal

India has released grant of NRs. (Nepalese Rupees) 18.07 crore for river training and construction of embankments along three major rivers of the Himalayan nation namely Lalbakeya, Bagmati and Kamla rivers in Nepal.

  • The river training and embankment works in the Lalbakeya, Bagmati and Kamla rivers in Nepal aimed at flood control and water resources management, which benefit several million people inhabiting in the watershed of these rivers in India and Nepal.
  • Since 2008 the Government of India has given NRs. 4.68 billion to Nepal for the river training and embankment works.

Govt unveils National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy

In an effort to boost clean energy generation, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has unveiled a National Wind-solar Hybrid Policy to promote new projects as well as hybridisation of the existing ones.

  • The government has set an ambitious target of achieving 175 gigawatt (gw) of installed capacity from renewable energy sources by 2022, which includes 100 gw of solar and 60 gw of wind power capacity.
  • The MNRE is also in the process of launching a scheme for new hybrid projects under this policy, which are 10 to 15 percent cheaper than 100 percent solar or wind projects.

India 3rd largest solar market in world: Mercom

India emerged as the third largest solar market in the world in 2017 behind China and the United States according to the report of Mercom Communications India.

  • In 2017, India’s solar market recorded growth rate at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)  of approximately 170 percent since 2010 while of the total 1.6 GW cumulative solar rooftop installations in India by 2017, 995 MW was installed last year.
  • Mercom Communications India is an arm of global clean energy consulting firm Mercom Capital Group.

Registration for Swachh Bharat Summer Internship Extended Apply by 15th June 2018

The last date for registration for Swachh Bharat Summer Internship has been extended. Students of Higher Education institutions and members of NYKS can now register for the internship till 15th June 2018. 

  • Earlier the last date for registration was till 15th May 2018
  • The extension of the privileged scheme has been given to facilitate the youth across the country, particularly those in colleges who would be pre-occupied with academic matters and examinations.

Sulabh founder to get Nikkel Asia Prize

Sanitation pioneer and founder of Sulabh International Dr Bindeshwar Pathak has been selected for Japan’s most prestigious Nikkel Asia Prize.

  • Pathak has been considered for the prize under “Culture and Community” section. The prize will be awarded on June 13 in Tokyo.


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Mahira Khan becomes first Pakistani actor to debut at Cannes

Pakistani actress Mahira Khan has created history by becoming the first actor of Pakistani origin to make debut at Cannes Film Festival 2018.

WHO launches ‘REPLACE’ to eliminate trans fat in foods by 2023

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a comprehensive plan to eliminate industrially-produced artificial trans fats from the global food supply by 2023. 

  • The WHO launched an initiative called REPLACE that will provide guidance for all countries on how to remove artificial trans fats from their foods, possibly leading to a worldwide eradication.
  • REPLACE stands for review dietary sources, promote use of healthier fats, legislate, assess changes, create awareness and enforce.


APPOINTMENTS

Shahank Manohar elected unopposed, to serve 2nd term as ICC chairman

International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s)  incumbent chairman Shashank Manohar has been re-elected for a second term, after being the only nominee in the election for the post put forward by the ICC board.

  • The former BCCI president had become the first-ever independent chairman of the ICC in 2016, and will now hold office for another two-year tenure.


BUSINESS

NALCO inks MoU with Government of India for FY 2018-19 

Aluminium major & Navratna CPSE National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has signed MoU with the Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India, setting highest ever target of Rs 9350 crore revenue from operations for FY 2018-19 which is 15% higher than last year.

  • The MoU has also set a target of 2.1 million tons for production of Alumina with 100% capacity utilisation & an optimum Aluminium production target of 4.15 lakh tonnes.

NTPC signs MoU with Government of Bihar; aims to improve performance of Power Sector in Bihar

With an aim to improve the performance of Power Sector in Bihar, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of Bihar (GoB) and NTPC Limited. 

  • The MoU envisages transfer of Barauni Thermal Power Station (720 MW) to NTPC. In addition to this, Bihar State Power Generation Company’s (BSPGCL) entire equities in Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited (KBUN) & Nabinagar Power Generating Company (Pvt.) Limited (NPGC) will also be transferred to NTPC.
  • Power from all the three power station shall be available to State of Bihar as before after approval by the Ministry of Power, Government of India.

BSNL partners SAP to boost GST compliance in rural India

State-owned telecom operator BSNL has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with enterprise solutions provider SAP to jointly offer innovative GST (goods and services tax) solutions to enterprises across India.

  • The MoU aims to ensure that every business in every town and village in the nation successfully adopts GST through BSNL’s country-wide reach and SAP’s expertise in providing robust technology offerings.


SPORTS

IOA signs Li-Ning as apparel partner till Tokyo 2020

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has announced Asia’s leading sports apparel brand Li-Ning as the Indian contingent’s official sports apparel partner till the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

  • As part of the partnership, Li-Ning will provide Indian athletes and officials with sports competition and training apparel, leisure wear and footwear for the Asian Games 2018, 2018 Summer Olympic Youth Games and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.


OBITUARIES

Renowned physicist E C G Sudarshan passes away at 86

Famous theoretical physicist Ennackal Chandy (EC) George Sudarshan passed away in Texas, USA.

  • The renowned physicist E C G Sudarshan, who proved Albert Einstein wrong, was recommended for the Nobel Prize nine times but never awarded.
  • The 86-year-old physicist was born in Kottayam on September 16, 1931.

Acclaimed Warli artist Jivya Soma Mashe dead

Internationally acclaimed artist Jivya Soma Mashe, who popularised the Warli tribal art form to the global stage, passed away at his native village in Dhamangaon in Talasari taluka of Thane district of Maharashtra after a prolonged illness. He was 84.



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