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Current Affairs – May 22, 2018

S.No Topic Page Number

1 Important Days 2

2 World News 3 - 4

3 National News 5 – 6

4 State News 7 – 8

5 Banking & Economy 9 - 10

6 Sports News 11

7 Awards & Honours 12

8 Appointments & Resignation 13

9 Science & Techonology 14

10 Obituaries 15

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Important Days

International Bio-diversity Day

On 22 May 2018, International Bio-diversity Day was celebrated all over the world.

When: The UN General Assembly declared 22 May as the InternationalDay for Biological

Diversity in 2000. This marks the day in which Convention on Biological Diversity was

adopted.

Why: The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) is celebrated to create awareness

on biodiversity issues like habitat destruction, marine pollution, climate change etc.

The theme for International Bio-diversity Day 2018 is: Celebrating 25 Years of Action for

Biodiversity.

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World News

India receives the 1st cargo of ADNOC crude oil for its mangalore startegic petroleum reserve

On May 22, 2018, India received the 1 cargo of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)

crude oil for its Mangalore Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

In February 2018, during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to UAE,ISPRL and

ADNOC signed an Agreement for storing 5.68 million barrels of crude oil.

This is to be stored in the Mangaluru facility of India SPR for emergency and distribution

purposes.

Apart from this the minister of oil Dharmendra Pradhan flagged off 2 million barrels of oil

for India.

The centre has built crude oil storage facilities with total capacity of 5.33 Million Tonnes

(MT) at three locations under phase I of the ‘SPR programme’ including 1.33MT at

Vishakhapatnam, 1.5 MW at Mangalore and 2.5 MT at Padur.

First informal summit between India and Russia held in the city of sochi

On May 22, 2018, The Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi met the President of

Russia Mr. Vladmir Putin for the first informal summit in the city of Sochi, Russia.

Talk’s ofcounter terrorism, strategic partnership for global peace and stability, to continue

working though the multilateral organizations like UN, SCO, BRICS and G-20.

Agreement for strategic economic dialogue between NITI Aaoygand Russia’s Ministry of

Economic Development for better trade and investment.

Agreement on the first consignment of LNG under a long-term agreement between

Gazprom and GAIL.

For better partnership in military, security and nuclear energy fields.

Agreement on holding informal summits in future.

BRICS Bank plans to launch Americas Regional Office in Brazil

On May 22, 2018, BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) plans to launch Americas Regional

Office in Brazil.

It is done to increase the operational capabilities of NDB in Brazil.

This will help in identification and preparation of bankable projects in Brazil.

Apart from this there is another centre: The African Regional Centre in Johannesburg,

South Africa.

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Pakistan among top three sources of money laundering in UK: NCA

The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has placed Pakistan among the top

three sources for money laundering in the United Kingdom.

Nigeria and Russia are the other two countries in the top 3 sources of money laundering

in UK.

The NCA report states that the UK is a major destination for foreign corrupt and politically

exposed people to launder money. It has identified trade misinvoicing as one of the major

mechanisms used for such operations.

NCA had produced a report named “National Strategic Assessment of Serious and

Organized Crime 2018”.

London is also considered the “Money Laundering Capital of the World” where corrupt

leaders from developing countries use wealth looted from people to buy assets.

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National News

Workshop on “Ganga and its Biodiversity: developing a road map for habitat and species

conservation” inaugurated by Nitin Gadkari

On May 22,2018, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga

Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a day-long workshop on the theme “Ganga

and its Biodiversity: Developing a Road Map for Habitat and Species Conservation” on

river Ganga in New Delhi. This was organized by by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

He also released a report on “Status of Conservation of Select Aquatic Species”. A

database of ‘Ganga Praharis’, a self-motivated cadre, being created by Wildlife Institute

of India (WII) was also launched by the Minister.

India witnessed highest number of Internet shutdowns in 2017-18: UNESCO report

People in South Asian countries experienced at least 97 instances of Internet shutdown,

a barometer on freedom of press and expression, between May 2017 and April 2018, with

India alone accounting for 82 such cases, according to a UNESCO report.

According to the Clampdowns and Courage-South Asia Press Freedom Report 2017-18,

released recently by the UNESCO-International Federation of Journalists, Pakistan

witnessed 12 instances of Internet shutdown, while Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri

Lanka reported one such case each.

Civil Aviation Ministry notifies draft passenger charter

Civil Aviation Ministry has notified the draft of the Passenger Charter which is open for

public consultation and will be operational in a month’s time. The draft provides certain

measures for ensuring safety and security of passengers.

This includes refund of the entire ticket fare if flight gets canceled due to airline’s fault

and no charges on cancellation of tickets within 24 hours of booking.

Though Aadhar will be used for booking of tickets, it has not been made mandatory. The

ID shown by the passenger will be added to the database.

The draft also states that Wi-Fi connectivity will be available to passengers after the take

off. Airlines will get the permission for Wi-Fi service within 2 months of the application.

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Government’s new initiative: #Hum Fit Toh India Fit

In order to encourage fitness in the country, sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore took

the first step to post video of his fitness regime and challenge leading sportsmen of the

country for the same. He also urged people to post pictures on how they keep themselves

fit.

On social media, the Minister’s posted his Fitness video and Challenged 3 Celebrities. The

Olympian challenged cricketer Virat Kohli, actor Hrithik Roshan and badminton player

Saina Nehwal to join in.

Ministry of Railway & Rail vikas nigam limited sign MoU

Annual MoU was signed between Ministry of Railway & Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL)

regarding financial & non-financial targets for the company.

Mr Ranjanesh Sahai, Secretary, Railway Board & Mr S.C. Agnihotri, Chairman & Managing

Director, RVNL signed the MoU in New Delhi. The target for revenue from operations for

RVNL has been set of Rs 7600 Crfor the FY 2018-19.

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State News

“Historic Moment “as First Commercial Flight lands in Arunachal Pradesh

On May 22, 2018, a 42 seater aircraft of Alliance Air lands at Pasighat from Guwahati in

Arunachal Pradesh. It carried Chief Minister Pema Khandu and 24 other passengers with

it. Arunachal Pradesh has some 120 helipads and 10 advanced landing grounds

operational for defence and civil operations.

This flight is a part of the UDAN (Ude Desh ke Aam Nagarik) scheme. Arunachal Pradesh

Chief Minister Pema Khandu became its first passenger.

The flight will operate three times a week. It will connect Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh

and the Gopinath Bordoi Airport in Guwahati, Assam.

The flight was a 1.5 hrlong flight from Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport in Guwahati.

The Pasighat airport is on an Advance Landing Ground (ALG) which is meant to support

operations of small and military aircrafts.

This would provide better connectivity and commercial and economical growth in the

region.

Chhattisgarh to get specialised combat unit ‘Black Panther’: Rajnath

On 22 May 2018, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that, Chhattisgarh will get a

specialised anti Naxal combat force named the “Black Panther” in line with the

Greyhounds unit.

Rajnath Singh Singh made this announcement at a meeting in Naya Raipur. Greyhounds

is a special force in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh that is specialised in anti-insurgency

operations against Naxals and Maoists.

He said that, the government is making all possible efforts to stop the resource flow to

the Maoists, including seizure of illegally procured properties.

18,000 tanks rejuvenated in Telangana, says Minister under its Mission Kakatiya programme

On May 22, 2018, Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao said that, the Telangana

government has completed rejuvenation of 18,000 tanks in Telangana under its Mission

Kakatiya programme.

T Harish Rao made this announcement at a convention on ‘Rejuvenation of Krishna river’

organised by the Telangana Water Resources Development Corporation (TWRDC).

He said that, ground water level in Telangana has increased with the rejuvenation of

tanks.

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Kerala tourism to unveil world’s largest bird sculpture

The Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran has announced that Kerala tourism

will inaugurate the world’s largest bird sculpture, Jatayu Earth’s Centre in

Thiruvananthapuram on July 4.

The replica of the bird ‘Jatayu’ — a character in the Ramayana — is 200 feet long, 150

feet wide, 65 feet tall and is positioned right at the top of a rock situated 1,000 feet above

sea level.

The sculpture, spread over 65 acres in Thiruvananthapuram, has been built at a cost of Rs

100 crore.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu lays foundation stone for NIDM’s Southern Campus in Andhra

Pradesh

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for the Southern Campus of

National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) at Kondapavuluru in Krishna District

of Andhra Pradesh.

NIDM’s Campus would become a Centre for excellence in the future and save people from

cyclones and other disasters.

Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala

As the death toll in the virus-induced fever in north Kerala rises to nine, the National

Virology Institute in Pune has confirmed that the deceased were infected with Nipah virus

(NiV).

This is the first time the virus, which has high fatality rate and spreads mainly through

bats, pigs and other animals, has been detected in the state.

Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly-emerging zoonosis (a disease which can be

transmitted to humans from animals) that causes severe disease in both animals and

humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus

genus.

NiV was first identified during an outbreak of disease that took place in Kampung Sungai

Nipah, Malaysia in 1998. On this occasion, pigs were the intermediate hosts.

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Banking & Economy

Bank of Baroda locates major operations at GIFT city

On May 22, 2018, Bank of Baroda locates major operations at GIFT city.

The bank will now offer its services including retail loan processing, deposit account

openingin this Shared Service Centre (SSC).

It will have a staff strength of 200.

The bank will become one of the largestemployers in the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar

region.

The bank had taken 20,000 sq, ftof office space in GIFT City, making it the first Indian bank

to move several key operations to the smart city.

BoB, CDSL sign agreement

On May 22, 2018, Bank of Baroda has signed agreement with CDSL Commodity Repository

(CCRL).

This agreement is for pledge financeunder the repository ecosystem for registered /

accredited warehouses.

The new ecosystem will boost confidence among bankers and other stakeholders like

depositors and warehouse service providers.

This will also provide various features to its stakeholders such as seamless transfer of

ownership of commodity by the depositors, splitting of warehouse receipt by the

depositors, real time and ease of access of information by the banks that will help them

reduce their TAT in processing the loans and marking the pledge on the commodity.

BOB becomes the firstpublic sector bank to become the repository participant.

MCX launches India’s first copper options

On May 22, 2018, Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) launches India’s first copper

options.

The contract has clocked a traded volume of 461 lots with value of Rs. 21.89 crore

The contracts are available for trading with one MCX copper futures contract (1MT) as

the bottom-line.

In order to encourage active participation in the market the exchange is not levying any

transaction fees on all the commodity options contracts till September 30, 2018.

Copper ranks as the third-most-consumed industrial metal in the world, after iron and

aluminium.

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Copper ore production in India stood at 3,846 thousand tonnes in 2016-17.India’s

consumption demand for refined copper stood at 820 thousand tonnes in the FY16.

Business & economy India to achieve 9 percent growth rate by 2022: Niti Ayog VC

On May 22, 2018, The Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Rajiv Kumar said that the Indian

economy and business will grow to a 9% growth rate by 2022.

This was possible because of the reforms like GSTand demonetization and the Insolvency

and Bankrupty Code (IBC).

Also encouraging electric vehicleswill aid in the improvement as petrol prices are growing

to a USD 80 per barrel.

The NITI Aayog is working on projects to demonstrate that farmers income can be

doubled by 2022.

Indian economy grew by 6.6% in 2017-18 and is expected to grow by 7.5% in 2018-19

fiscal.

Inflation to average around 5.1% this fiscal: Report

Inflation is set to rise further towards the second half of the fiscal, and could average 5.1

per cent this financial year compared to 3.6 per cent last year, says an HSBC report.

According to the global financial services major, the factors those are likely to impact

inflation going forward include higher oil prices, a weaker rupee, higher MSPs and more

currency in circulation.

BoB launched MSME factory in Gurgaon

State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) has launched its first integrated SME Loan Factory in

Gurgaon to cater the needs of MSME segment in the NCR.

This integrated SME Loan Factory will function as a One Stop Shop’ for MSME customers

with competent staff and simplified processes.

It will provide end to end solutions viz. acquisition, processing, documentation,

disbursement & relationship management etc.

Adobe acquires Magento for USD 1.68 billion

On May 22, 2018, the California based giant software company Adobe announced its

acquisition of Magento for USD 1.68 billion.

Magentowas founded in 2008 and had been earlier acquired by eBay in 2011 first and

then went private in 2015.

It works in B2B and B2C context and will help Adobe to compete with salesforce and

provide functionality in ecommerce space.

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Sports News

Manika, Mirabai sign up with IOS sports

On May 22, 2018, Commonwealth medal winner and Table Tennis Star Manika Batra and

weightlifter Mirabai Chanu signed multi year agreement with IOS.

IOS will now manage their endorsements, appearances, brand profiling, patents, licensing

and digital rights, images, and visibility on social networking sites, the company stated in

a media release.

It will be managing their brand portfolio and commercial activities in a professional way.

With this deal, Manika and Mirabai join the likes of boxing stars MC Mary Kom, Vijender

Singh and Saina Nehwal on the IOS roster.

Bala Prasath wins Formula Junior Racing series 2018 championship

On 20 May 2018, Bala Prasath won the Formula Junior Racing Series 2018 Championship

in Coimbatore.

Bengaluru’s Sohil finished in the second place in the final round. Chennai’s Nirmal

Umashankar finished in the third position.

Bala Prasath hails from Coimbatore. The Formula Junior Racing Series 2018 Championship

is organised by MECO Motorsports.

Kane named England’s World Cup captain (football)

On 22 May 2018, Harry Kane was announced as England’s captain at the World Cup in

Russia.

Harry Kane is 24 years old. He has scored 12 goals in 23 international appearances.

He first captained England in the last summer’s 2-2 World Cup qualifier in Scotland.

Mridul Banerjee named Delhi dynamos assistant coach

Indian Super League (ISL) outfit Delhi Dynamos on Monday appointed Mridul Banerjee as

the new assistant coach of the club. The 59-year-old will take over from Shakti Chauhan

who left the side earlier this month.

Iraq to host first international football tournament

Iraq is to host a West Asia Football Federation championship at Basra Sports City stadium

in the southern Iraqi city in November, the first international tournament to be staged in

the country since the 1990s.

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Awards & Honours

MSLTA annual award winners

On 22 May 2018, the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) annual awards

were presented in Mumbai.

Some of the MSLTA annual award winners for their performances in 2017 -2018 are:

Asian junior Champion: Mihika Yadav

India’s No 5 Men’s player: Arjun Kadhe

India’s No 4 women’s player: Rutuja Bhosale

National Sub junior Champion: Rutuja Chaphalkar

India’s No 1 junior: Siddhant Banthia

The top 3 players in each age group in Maharashtra were awarded scholarships worth Rs.

11 lakhs and funds for international training.

Dr. Vijay Thete of Nashik, Mr. Rajesh Dave of Yewatmal and Mr. Deepak Somaiya of

Amravati were presented special awards for Development and Promotion of Tennis.

Also, coaches Kedar Shah for producing National Champions and Aditya Madkekar and

Shrinivas Rao Kola for National Runner-up from Maharashtra were given special awards.

The Maharashtra Men’s and Women’s team that bagged the All India interstate

Championships at Bhilai were presented Cash awards of Rs 51000 per player.

Maharashtra players Kritika Chhabra and Tejasvi Kate and coach Himanshu Gosavi were

honored for their Bronze winning performance at the Asian School Games at Solo,

Indonesia.

Appreciation Awards were given to clubs hosting international events in Maharashtra.

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Appointments & Resignation

Pravin Agrawal appointed BHEL director

On May 22, 2018, BHEL said that it has appointed Pravin L Agrawal as part-time official

director on its board.

Pravin Agrawal is an Indian Forest Service officer. Currently he is joint secretary in the

Department of Heavy Industry (DHI), Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

He is 49 years old. BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.) is a State-run power equipment

making company.

Mahathir taps prominent Indian-origin politician to become Malaysia’s first Sikh Cabinet

minister

Gobind Singh Deo, an Indian-origin lawyer and politician in Malaysia has become the first

Sikh in Malaysia to be appointed as a Cabinet minister.

Gobind Singh Deo is 44 years old. He has been allotted the communications and

multimedia portfolio.

Another Indian-origin lawmaker M Kulasegaran from the Democratic Action Party (DAP)

has been made the human resource minister in the Cabinet by Malaysian Prime Minister

Mahathir Mohamad.

NYSE names 1st woman Chief in Exchange’s 226-year history

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has named Stacey Cunningham its first female chief

in the history of the 226-year-old exchange.

Previously chief operating officer (COO), Cunningham replaces Tom Farley, who’s leaving

the company.

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Science & Techonology

Solar system’s first interstellar immigrant discovered

On May 22, 2018, scientists have discovered the first intersteller immigrant.

An Asteroid named (514107) 2015 BZ509 has a different origin other than our solar

system because the object moves in a direction opposite to that of all the objects in our

solar system.

This is the second asteroid that is causing stir after the ‘Oumuamua’ asteroid.

The discovery could shed light on a range of mysteries about how our solar system,

planets and perhaps even life itself were formed.

Dr. Fathi Namouni is the lead in this study group.

Scientists have found out a drug named “PLX5622” that could prevent the brain damage caused

by exposure to cosmic radiation.

Study regarding this was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Researchers have

found that the drug prevents memory impairment in mice exposed to simulated space

radiation.

Human beings travelling beyond the Earth’s protective magnetic fields will be exposed to

cosmic radiation nearly 1000 times higher than that on Earth.

The “PLX5622” has shown positive result on mice. Through this drug it would be possible

to make advancements in deep space exploration.

World’s largest amphibians face imminent threat of extinction

The critically endangered Chinese giant salamander, well known as the world’s largest

amphibian, now faces the imminent threat of extinction in the wild.

The findings, published in the journal Current Biology, showed that illegal poaching of the

amphibians is widespread.

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Obituaries

Noted industrialist Bansidhar Panda passes away

On 22 May 2018, Bansidhar Panda, industrialist and founder of Indian Metal and Ferro

Alloys (IMFA) Ltd died at his home in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Bansidhar Panda was 87 years old. He founded Indian Metal and Ferro Alloys (IMFA) in

1961.

He was a major contributor in instituting Sarala Award for literature and Ekalabya

Puruskar for sports.