Daily Current Affairs 24th May, 2018

Daily Current Affairs 24 May 2018 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

HRD Ministry launches Samagra Shiksha scheme

Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar has launched Samagra Shiksha scheme for school education from pre-school to senior secondary levels.

• The government has also decided to increase the budget for the entire school education next year by 20 percent.
• The new scheme is integration of three components namely Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) — which took care of the school education at primary and secondary levels — and Teacher Training will now be coalesced into one whole.
• The scheme focuses on improving quality of education, enhancing the Learning outcomes and using technology to empower children and teachers.
• Besides, an annual grant of Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 per school will be given for strengthening of libraries

Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav  2018 to be Held Tehri, Uttarakhand from 25th to 27th May, 2018 

Ministry of Culture is organising the 9th edition of the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav under the Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat, in Tehri, Uttarakhand from 25th May to 27th May, 2018.

• Tehri Lake Festival where one can explore the water sports, organized by the Uttarakhand Tourism every year, will be subsumed within the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav.
• The paired state for Uttarakhand under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat matrix is Karnataka, and while troupes  from all over the country will be performing, special emphasis is being given to Karnataka.
• The Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM) will present rich diversity and uniqueness of Indian culture and promote the cultural inter-linkages amongst the states to strengthen National integration.

India-Nepal Joint Battalion Level Exercise SURYA KIRAN-XIII 

Joint Military Exercise SURYA KIRAN-XIII between India and Nepal will be conducted at Pithoragarh from 30 May to 12 June 2018. 

• Exercise SURYA KIRAN is a biannual event which is conducted alternatively in Nepal and India.
• The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence cooperation which will further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two nations.

15th Finance Commission constitutes a HLG to examine the strengths and weaknesses of Health Sector 

The 15th Finance Commission has constituted a high level group (HLG) to examine the strengths and weaknesses for enabling balanced expansion of health sector.

• The group headed by Director AIIMS, Dr. Randeep Guleria will have eminent experts of health sector.
• It will evaluate the existing regulatory framework in the sector and examine its strength and weaknesses for enabling a balanced yet faster expansion of the health sector keeping in view India’s demographic profile.

UGC approves regulations for online courses by universities

In a landmark reform in the field of Higher Education, University Grants Commission has approved UGC (Online Courses) Regulations, 2018.

• This will enable the Universities and higher educational institutions to offer graduate, postgraduate and diploma programmes online from this academic session.
• Under the UGC (Online Courses) Regulations, 2018, any higher education institution will be able to apply for permission to offer such online programmes if they have been in existence for at least five years and are accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, with a minimum score of 3.26 on a four-point scale to maintain quality.

Niti Aayog Ropes In Sushant Singh Rajput To Promote BHIM App, Women Entrepreneurship

Government of India’s think tank Niti Aayog has roped in film actor Sushant Singh Rajput to promote two of its major initiatives.

• One of them is BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) app and the other is women entrepreneurship platform (WEP).

Netherlands PM arrives in India

Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrived in New Delhi on a two-day visit to India. The Dutch leader’s visit comes within a year of Modi’s visit to the Netherlands last June.

• On his agenda is a bilateral summit with PM Modi and a visit to ISRO among other things.

Himachal launches self-employment scheme

The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet has given its approval to draft notification of the Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojana to promote self-employment opportunities for the youth by encouraging entrepreneurship.

• It also gave approval to the launch of Himachal Grihni Suvidha Yojna for empowering women and conserving environment.

Indo-Bangladesh border will be sealed by December: Sonowal

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has announced that the India-Bangladesh border in the state will be completely sealed by December.

• The move marks the BJP-led government’s commitment before 2016 polls to make Assam free of illegal immigrants.
• While the riverine areas along the border will be sealed with non-physical barriers, the portion on land will be secured with smart fencing, which will stop infiltration and other illegal cross border activities.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

China to develop 200km/h maglev train by 2021

China is soon to develop a prototype middle-to-low-speed magnetic-levitation train with a speed of 200 km/hour by 2021.

• According to CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co. Ltd., a review committee has approved a plan for developing the maglev train and support facilities.
• A sample carriage will be built in 2019, and test runs are expected to be completed by 2021.
• RRC Zhuzhou has built 100km/h maglev trains that have been running in China’s central province of Hunan for two years.

BANKING

SIDBI to extend direct funding facility to VLEs in CSCs 

CSC SPV and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) signed an MoU for  providing financial support to CSCs (Common Services Centers) across the country.

• Through the MoU, the SIDBI seeks to extend financial support to the Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) of Common Services Centers, with minimum one year of operation, under the Direct Financing Window of SIDBI.
• Common Services Centre (CSC) programme is an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY), Government of India. CSCs are the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society.

BUSINESS

5th India CLMV Business Conclave held at Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 21-22 May 2018 

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India along with Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia organized the 5th India-CLMV Business Conclave in Phnom Penh on 21-22 May 2018. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is the institutional partner of the event.

• After four rounds of the Business Conclave in India, this initiative was brought by Department of Commerce of Government of India to Cambodia for greater participation from the region.

• The inaugural session of 5^th India CLMV Conclave was presided over by Deputy Prime Minister of Kingdom of Cambodia and was attended by Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry of Government of India.

APPOINTMENTS

Russian President Putin picks ex-deputy PM Rogozin as head of space agency

Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed former deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin as head of the space agency Roscosmos.

• As deputy prime minister between 2011 and May 2018, Rogozin was responsible for overseeing the defence and space industries.

Airtel Payments Bank appoints Anubrata Biswas as MD, CEO

Airtel Payments Bank has appointed Anubrata Biswas as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

• Previously, Anubrata was the Joint General Manager and Retail Business Head – South India with the ICICI Bank.
• The appointment comes five months after former CEO and MD Shashi Arora stepped down in December.

AWARDS

NRI industrialist Swraj Paul wins lifetime achievement award in UK

Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has received a lifetime achievement award for his contributions towards promoting brand India in the United Kingdom.

• The founder of Caparo Group of industries was recognised at a UK & Asia Business Awards ceremony in London organised by World Consulting and Research Corporation (WCRC) – the research and consultancy firm behind collating the world’s “iconic” brands.

Nara Lokesh receives award for ‘Digital Leader of the Year’

Andhra Pradesh Minister for IT, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Nara Lokesh has been honored with the “Digital Leader of the Year” award during Businessworld Digital India Summit and Awards 2018 at New Delhi.

• The ‘Business World’ magazine has announced this award for the best utilisation of technology in governance.
• Lokesh won this award for using cutting edge technology and yielding good results in Panchayat Raj, Rural Development, and Rural Water Supply departments.

CSIR bags the Clarivate Analytics India Innovation Award 2018 in the Government Research Organizations Category 

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) has been awarded the Clarivate Analytics India Innovation Award 2018 in the Government Research Organizations Category. This award yet again recognizes CSIR as the top innovator.

• With over 2800 citations received by their patents, CSIR scored well on patent citation impact in the government research organization category indicating the relevance and impact of CSIR’s innovations.

Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017 presented to the INSV Tarini Team 

Hon’ble Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi presented the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017 to the members of the INSV Tarini team in New Delhi.

• The Six-member all-women team comprising of Lt Commander Vartika Joshi,Lt Commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lt Commander Swathi Patarpalli ,Lt Aishwarya Bodapatti, Lt SH Vijaya Devi and Lt Payal Gupta have received the Puraskar from the Minister.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Latika Nath unveils new book titled Hidden India

Wildlife photographer,biologist, conservationist and author Latika Nath has unveiled her book that has photographs of some of her “closest wildlife encounters.

• The book, titled ‘Hidden India’, is a coffee-table book and part of the proceeds from the book will go to support the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Centre to promote protection of India’s elephants.
• Nath is India’s first female biologist with a doctorate on tigers and she was dubbed ‘The Tiger Princess’ by National Geographic.

SCIENCE

Solar system’s first interstellar immigrant discovered

Scientists have discovered the first known permanent immigrant to the solar system – an asteroid named (514107) 2015 BZ509, currently nestling in Jupiter’s orbit, that migrated from another star system.

• All of the planets in our solar system, and the vast majority of other objects as well, travel around the Sun in the same direction.
• However the immigrant asteroid moves in the opposite direction in what is known as a ‘retrograde’ orbit. How the asteroid came to move in this way while sharing Jupiter’s orbit has until now been a mystery.

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