Current Affairs 19th May 2018

National News

1. PM Modi Laid Foundation Stone of India’s Longest Road Tunnel in J&K

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir. During his visit, Prime Minister laid down the foundation stone of 'Zojila Tunnel' on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway in Leh. The 14.2-kilometre long Zojila tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel.
ii. Prime Minister Modi also dedicated to the nation a 330 MW Kishenganga hydroelectric project from Srinagar. There are 7 functional NHPC power projects in J&K. The project has been built at a cost of Rs 5200 cr.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     Jammu and Kashmir CM- Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed, Governor- N. N. Vohra.

2. Shivangi Pathak Becomes Youngest Indian Woman to Scale Mount Everest

i. India's Shivangi Pathak has become youngest women of the country to scale Mt Everest from Nepal side. 
ii. According to the Managing Director of Seven Summit Treks, Mingma Sherpa, 16-year-old  Haryana Born Shivangi successfully stood atop world’s highest mountain.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     Arunima Sinha was the first Indian amputee to climb Mt Everest.

·                     In 2014, 13-year-old Malavath Poorna from India had climbed Mt Everest from Tibet side and became the youngest girl in the world to the summit at Everest.

3. Netherlands PM Mark Rutte to be on 2-Day Official Visit to India

i. Prime Minister of The Netherlands, Mark Rutte, will be on a two-day official visit to India with an aim to boost the economic and political cooperation between the two countries.
ii. During the visit, the India-Dutch CEOs forum will take place in New Delhi. India and The Netherlands have a bilateral trade of 5.39 billion dollars. The Netherlands is the 5th largest investor in India.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     Netherlands Capital- Amsterdam, Currency- Euro, USD.

4. Dr Harsh Vardhan’s ‘Green Good Deeds’ Gets Global Recognition

Dr Harsh Vardhan’s

i. Green Good Deeds, the societal movement launched by Environment, Forest & Climate Change Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to protect the environment and promote good living has found acceptance by the global community.
ii. Dr Harsh Vardan at the ongoing 4th BRICS Environment Ministerial in Durban, South Africa had urged the BRICS nations to jointly help in the development of a social movement to fight for the protection and conservation of the environment.

5. NITI Aayog’s 3-Day Venture Capital Symposium 2018 Begins

i. NITI Aayog, in association with Vision India Foundation, is organising the Venture Capital Symposium 2018 to deepen the economic relationships between France and India. The Venture Capital Symposium 2018 is a three-day event where the French investors will be interacting with 100 early to mid-stage Indian start-ups.
ii. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, along with Atul Chaturvedi, Additional Secretary, DIPP addressed the inaugural address of the Symposium, which was attended by Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     NITI- National Institution for Transforming India.

·                     NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman- Rajiv Kumar, CEO- Amitabh Kant.

6. 'AYUSH' Finds A Place in English Language 

i. The Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology has decided to adopt the word ‘AYUSH’ in Hindi and English languages for scientific and technical purposes.
ii. The “AYUSH” became popular as the acronym for five traditional and complementary systems of medicine, namely Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy and successfully adopted and used in all Government communications.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     Shripad Naik is the Union AYUSH Minister of India.

·                     Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy is abbreviated as AYUSH.

7. Indian Economy Projected to Grow 7.6% in 2018-19: UN Report

i. India's economy is projected to grow 7.6% in fiscal year 2018-19, remaining the fastest growing economy in the world, according to a United Nations report. 
ii. The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) as of mid-2018 launched recently stated that GDP growth in India is expected to climb to 7.5 and 7.6% in fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively.
iii. This is a substantial recovery from the 6.7% growth India registered in fiscal year 2017. Amid ongoing structural reforms, growth in the Chinese economy is projected to gradually moderate from 6.9% in 2017 to 6.5% in 2018 and 6.3% in 2019.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     The United Nations is an international organization founded in 24th of October 1945. 

·                     It is currently made up of 193 Member States.

·                     The Headquarters of UN: New York, USA.

·                     Antonio Guterres is the Secretary-General of United Nations.

Awards

8. India’s Jagriti Yatra Wins Charity Award in UK

i. The Yatra, an Indian charity that organises 15-day train journeys around India to understand and build the India of smaller towns and villages through enterprise has won an award in London. 
ii. Jagriti Yatra organises 15-day train journeys, covering 800 km for 400 young change-makers across India every year. It has created some of India’s foremost social entrepreneurs and pioneers of enterprise-led development that cuts across socio-economic boundaries in India.

9. NMDC Bags S&P PLATTS Global Metals Award 2018

i. NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation) Limited has bagged the prestigious S&P Global PLATTS Global Metals Award 2018 in corporate social responsibility (CSR) category held at London.
ii. This is the first time since inception of this award that an Indian Company bagged an award in this category. 

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     NMDC is the largest iron ore mining company in India. 

·                     With iron ore production of around 35 million tonnes per annum, it has a domestic market share of about 25% (non-captive category).

·                     It Headquarters in Hyderabad.

Appointments

10. Gina Haspel Confirmed As 1st Female Director of CIA

i. The US Senate confirmed Gina Haspel as the first female director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Gina Haspel's confirmation in a 54-45 vote follows a partisan fight among senators about the CIA's Bush-era use of techniques such as waterboarding.
ii. The former CIA chief, Mike Pompeo, left to become US Secretary of State. 

11. Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa Resigns

i. BS Yeddyurappa resigned 55 hours after taking oath as the Karnataka CM, ahead of the floor test. BJP, with 104 seats, was seven short of the required number of 111.
ii. The Congress with 78 MLAs, the JD(S) with 36 and three others were also individually not in a position to form the government. But with BJP now exiting the picture, the Congress-JD(S) combine has 114 seats, more than the required number.