Daily Current Affairs for 8th May,2018 ( English)
Tamil Nadu:
1. A new snake species has
been discovered in the Anaikatty hills, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. It is named as Uropeltis bhupathyi after the late herpetologist
S. Bhupathy, for his contributions to the field.
2.
The dense vegetation in
the Western Ghats determines the amount of rainfall that Tamil Nadu gets during
the summer monsoon as per the suggestions of researchers from the Department of
Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. It contributes to nearly 40% of moisture to the
southwest monsoon rainfall in Tamil Nadu in the normal monsoon years. The average contribution is 25-30%. In monsoon deficit years,
the contribution increases to 50%. The study highlights importance of
urgent need to stop deforestation in the Western Ghats.
National:
1.
‘India and the world: a
history in nine stories’ exhibition was inaugurated by the President, Indira
Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, (IGNCA), Raam Bahadur Rai, at National
Museum, New Delhi .It is supported by Ministry of
Culture.This exhibition is a part of commemoration of 70 years of
India’s independence and a year of major cultural exchange between India and
the UK (UK/India 2017). This Exhibition will be held for two
months till 30th June 2018. It is open for public on all days
from 10 am to 6 pm, except on Mondays and public holidays. The
exhibition portrays the evolution of Indian civilization. It
provides insights into two million years of history. This Exhibition also
marks the collaboration in museum exhibition with the British Museum, London;
National Museum, New Delhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya
(CSMVS), Mumbai.
2.
The Cochlear Implant Awareness Programme was organized by the Department of Empowerment of
Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment along with Indian Red Cross Society and Sarvodaya
Hospital & Research Centre was held at Faridabad, Haryana. Cochlear
Implant is an advanced technology to help children with severe deafness in both
ears. But it was costly and unaffordable for common people. Through
“Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas”, the DEPwD, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
is offering this technology to poor people also. Sarvodaya Hospital
& Research Centre, Faridabad is a part of this scheme. It has operated 30
kids from various parts of North India.
3. As a part of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, Aajeevika and Kaushal Vikas
Melas were held in various parts of India on 5th May 2018.
4. PCI rejects World Press
Freedom Index citing ‘lack of clarity’. This
announcement was made by Justice C.K Prasad, Press Council of India
Chairman.
5.
The First Apex Conference for CEOs of Smart Cities organised by
Union Urban Affairs Ministry and inaugurated by Minister of State (I/C) for
Housing & Urban Affairs was held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Smart Cities Mission (SCM) has been one of the most transformational
urban missions that have launched in June 2015. Total 99 cities have been
selected for development as Smart Cities. The two-day conference was organised
for providing platform for cross learning and knowledge sharing among Smart
City CEOs. It enabled CEOs to learn from experiences of all city leaders to
understand in greater details both successes and failures.
6. The setting up additional
100 One Stop Centres (OSCs) for women affected by violence has been approved by
Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) in its Programme Approval Board
(PAB) meeting. The purpose of these OSCs is to
provide integrated services for women affected with violence such as police
assistance, medical aid, psycho-social counselling, legal aid and counselling,
temporary stay for 5 days etc. under one roof. These OSCs will be set up in
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland,
Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
7. A Statement of Intent (SoI) with search engine giant Google was signed
by the NITI Aayog to work together to foster growth for India’s nascent
artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) ecosystem. Google
will train and incubate Indian AI startups in accelerator program. These
startups will be mentored and coached by Google and its affiliates to enable
them to better leverage AI in their respective business models
International:
1. Israel announced its
withdrawal from the contest for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council
(UNSC) for the 2019-2020 term.
2. The third edition of
United Nations Peacekeeping Course for African Partners (UNPCAP) conducted by
Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping in India (CUNPK) in partnership with
United States will be held in New Delhi from May 7 to 25, 2018. UNPCAP-03 was aimed at building and enhancing capacity of the
African Troop Contributing Countries to UN and to further train trainers from
these countries. The first and second editions of the course were held in New
Delhi in 2016 and 2017.
Science & Technology/ Defence:
1.
ISRO has developed an atomic clock to be used in navigation
satellites to measure clear-cut location data. The desi atomic clock is being developed by the Space
Applications Centre, Ahmedabad.This clock is currently undergoing a series
of qualification tests. Once it successfully clears all tests, the desi atomic
clock will be used in an experimental navigation satellite to test its accuracy
and durability in space. Currently ISRO imports atomic clocks from European
aerospace manufacturer Astrium for navigation satellites.
2. A key peptide was
successfully identified by researchers from Gujarat Biotechnology Research
Centre, Gandhinagar that can be used to develop a new preventive vaccine
against leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is an
emerging tropical infectious bacterial disease that affects humans and animals.
It caused by corkscrew-shaped bacteria called Leptospira.
3. Android Things (codenamed
Brillo), a variant (or spinoff) of Android operating system for Internet of
Things (IoT) devices such as smart home appliances and other smart machines was
launched by Alphabet Inc’s Google. Google also
introduced Weave protocol along with Android Things, which will be used by
these devices, will use to communicate with other. Every Android device can
automatically recognize any Brillo OS or Weave API based device. Users can
choose a device, set it up and use it immediately.
Economy:
1.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that, it will buy Rs
10,000 crore of government bonds through open market operation (OMO). RBI made this decision after failing to sell all the debt it
had offered to bidders. It was the third consecutive week when the RBI couldn’t
sell everything on offer which lead to a spike in bond yields.
2. A protocol to amend
existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and Kuwait
has been notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The said protocol amends existing DTAA was entered into force in
March 2018. It updates the provisions in DTAA for exchange of information as
per international standards. The DTAA between both countries was signed in June
2006 for the avoidance of double taxation and for prevention of fiscal evasion
with respect to taxes on income.
3. $200 million loan
agreement with World Bank for National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan) for
315 districts across all states and union territories has been signed by the
Union government. POSHAN Abhiyaan (Prime
Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) was launched in
Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan in March 2018. It aims to ensure holistic development and
adequate nutrition for pregnant women, mothers and children.The loan proceeds
will be used for reducing stunting in children 0-6 years of age from 38.4% to
25% by 2022 under POSHAN Abhiyaan.
Awards:
1.
Fiji’s Indian-origin
former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry has been selected for the V K Krishna
Menon Award for his contribution to the Indian diaspora.
Sports:
1.
According to the latest
rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in New Delhi, Saina
Nehwal has entered into the top 10 and PV Sindhu remains at World No 3 in women’s ranking, Shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has
reached the third spot , HS
Pronnoy is in world number 8 position and
Viktor Axelsen of Denmark has obtained the top rank in Men’s section. The highest
ranked Indian pair in men’s doubles are Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty at
World No 18. Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy are in 26th position in
women’s doubles. Pranaav Chopra and Sikki Reddy are in 23rd spot in mixed
doubles rankings.
2.
Olympic medalist Gagan
Narang and Pooja Ghatkar bagged the silver medal in the mixed event at Grand Prix of Liberation international shooting competition held
in Pilsen, Czech Republic. P. Shri Nivetha and Amanpreet Singh claimed
the mixed air pistol silver.
3.
India finished on top with 20 gold, 22 silver and 8 bronze
medals, at the 3rd South Asian Junior Athletics Championships (SAJAC) at
Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri
Lanka won 12 gold medals 10 silver and 19 bronze medals and occupied 2nd place. Pakistan
won 1 silver and 1 bronze medal and secured the third place.
Announcement !
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