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Daily Current Affairs for May 3-4,2018 (English)


Important Days:
1.     May 1- World Asthma Day is observed every year on the first Tuesday of May. It is organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). The theme for World Asthma Day 2018 is: ‘Never too early, never too late. It’s always the right time to address airways disease.’
2.     May 2- World Tuna Day was celebrated throughout the world from 2011 when the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) declared May 2nd as a holiday to highlight the importance of tuna. The tuna fish is majorly found in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and in the Mediterranean Sea. It forms a major form of sea food in many countries. The theme for World Tuna Day 2018 is: Smart Tuna – Smart Ocean.
3.     May 3- World Press Freedom Day was observed across the world with an aim to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, defend the media from attacks and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives while being on duty. The theme of 2018 World Press Freedom Day - ‘keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law’.
National:
1.     Sikkim’s Pawan Chamling (68) created history by becoming longest-serving Chief Minister in India. He has completed 23 years, four months and 17 days of uninterrupted service in office. He surpassed earlier record held by Jyoti Basu, 5-term West Bengal CM who held office for 23 years. Basu was in office from June 21, 1977 to November 6, 2000.
2.     A Pilot Scheme for Procurement of Aggregate Power of 2500 MW on competitive basis for 3 years was launched by the Ministry of Power. The main purpose of scheme is to revive commissioned power plants which are unable to sell electricity in absence of valid power purchase agreements (PPAs).
3.     The continuation of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) beyond the 12th Five Year Plan for a period of three year from 2017-18 to 2019-20 with the financial outlay of Rs 14832 crores approved by the Union Cabinet. The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana was initially approved in March 2006 with an aim to correct the imbalances in the availability of affordable healthcare facilities across the country and augmenting facilities for quality medical education in the under-served States, in particular. 
4.     The Ministry of Women and Child Development will hold National Conference of 244 Districts under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) in New Delhi on May 4, 2018. The day-long conference would be attended by the Nodal Officers of 244 Districts, State Nodal Officers and Senior officers.
5.     The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), which is providing a host of e-services for its stakeholders, has now introduced a new service - ‘View Pension Passbook’ service through ‘UMANG app’. On clicking ‘View Passbook’ option, the pensioners would be required to enter the PPO Number and date of birth information.After successful validation of the information, an OTP will be sent to the registered mobile number of the pensioner.  On entering OTP, the ‘Pensioner Passbook’ will display the details of the pensioner like name, DOB along with last pension credited information.  The facility to download the financial year wise complete pass book details will also be made available.
6.     The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved plan to set up 20 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) across the country and upgrade 73 medical colleges. The decisions are part of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), which has been extended by two years till 2020 with financial outlay of Rs.14,832 crore. The decision to extend PMSSY is aimed at meeting shortfall in healthcare professionals and facilities across the country.
7.     The Task Force constituted on “Establishing a Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)” has submitted its report to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The Task Force was constituted by MHA in August, 2017 and was headed by Preeti Saran, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
8.     The National Workshop on Data Requirements for Disaster Risk Reduction Database successfully concluded in New Delhi on May 3, 2018. The main aim of the two-day workshop was to develop a uniform and credible national-level disaster database.It also aimed to develop a consensus among those concerned on disasters and develop standardised systems for data collection, updation and validation to ensure accuracy and quality.
9.     Maharashtra became the first state of India to provide digitally-signed land record receipts (also known as 7/12 receipts). 7/12 receipt is the most important document which establishes the ownership of the land. Farmers are required to provide it while applying for loans. Besides, it is also used by the government during crop surveys and to extend various facilities.
10.  Haryana State Government has decided to adopt startup ranking framework issued by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The Startup ranking framework covers seven areas of interventions with a total of 38 action points and overall score of 100 marks.
11.  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved upgradation and expansion of airport infrastructure at Lucknow, Chennai and Guwahati airports with a total cost of over Rs 5,000 crore.
12.  Under Central Government’s ‘Adopt a Heritage: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan’ scheme, Dalmia Bharat group has adopted the Gandikota Fort (located in in Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh)  It is located close to Dalmia Bharat’s cement factory in Kadapa district and will thus make it easier to monitor development and maintenance work being undertaken at the fort. Gandikota Fort has been adopted by Dalmia Group for a period of five years. Dalmia Bharat Group has also adopted Red Fort under the ‘Adopt a Heritage:’ scheme.
13.  President Ram Nath Kovind, hosted the meeting of Vice-Chancellors of Central Universities and presented the Visitor’s Awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Prof. Sanjay K. Jain’s – for development of a drug delivery system having the potential to make cancer treatment more effective and affordable. Prof. Ashis Kumar Mukherjee – for research on the molecular complexity of the snake venom. Prof. Ashwani Pareek – for development of a rice variety with potential to increase farm productivity and income of farmers. Prof. Pramod K. Nayar – for his work in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
14.  On 3rd to 5th May 2018, ‘Vibrant North East 2018′ is held in Guwahati, Assam. is organized by Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), a New Delhi-based NGO. This is the fourth edition of the Vibrant North East expo in Guwahati. It acts as a platform to exhibit North East’s potential and for better implementation of Central schemes in Northeast. The expo focuses on agriculture, MSME, food processing projects, horticulture, tea, spices, medicinal plants, coir, bamboo, rural craft products, eco-tourism and agro and nature tourism, commerce and rural development, skills, jobs and entrepreneurship, health, hygiene, sanitation, power, role of cooperatives in agriculture, petroleum and heavy industries.
15.  The Maharashtra government decided to recommend the declaration of an ordinance to rename the Jalgaon-based North Maharashtra University after poetess Bahinabai Chaudhari. The North Maharashtra University is to be renamed as ‘Kaviyatri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University’.
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International: 
1.     The first-ever India- South Africa Business Summit (ISABS 2018) was held at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa on April 29-30, 2018. The tag line of the Summit was “United by Legacy, Unified for Prosperity”
2.     Cambridge Analytica, the UK-based data analytics company that was caught in a massive data-harvesting scandal that it illegally harvested data of over 87 million Facebook users has announced that it would immediately shut its operations, as the controversy has driven away virtually all of its customers.
3.     A five-day cultural festival was organized by India in Egypt to commemorate the 157th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The festival is being organised by the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC), the cultural wing of the Indian Embassy in Cairo. An exhibition on the paintings of Tagore titled ‘Rabindranath Tagore: Rhythm in Colours' will be held at the Museum of Ahmed Shawky at Giza as part of the  festival, which began on May 3. 
4.     UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has urged US President Donald Trump not to walk away from an international deal designed to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.  Donald Trump would be taking a decision on whether or not to stick with the deal on May 12, 2018. On the other side, European allies France, the UK and Germany have agreed that pursuing the current nuclear deal with Iran is the best way to stop it from developing nuclear weapons.
5.     US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a faith-based initiative at the White House, which would promote policies that recognize the vital role of faith in American life. Trump signed the order during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden on the occasion of the National Day of Prayer. The faith initiative aims to help design new policies that recognize the vital role of faith in American families and communities.


Science and Technology/Defence: 
1.     NASA and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) jointly demonstrated that the Kilopower portable nuclear fission reactor could enable crewed missions to the Moon, Mars and destinations beyond on May 2, 2018.The Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) experiment was conducted at the NNSA’s Nevada National Security Site from November 2017 through March 2018. The team successfully established that the system can create electricity with fission power.
2.       India has emerged as fifth largest military spender in 2017 according to recently released report of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The world’s five biggest military spenders in 2017 are United States ($610 billion), China ($228 billion), Saudi Arabia (69.4 billion), Russia (66.3 billion) and India ($63.9 billion).
3.       Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued warning of another dust storm and thunderstorm in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The satellite images have shown wind pressure developing in two states leading to thunderstorms, gusty winds and heavy rain.
4.       The final and third phase of Varuna naval exercise 2018 conducted by Indian and French navies near Reunion Island in Indian Ocean region (IOR) to enhance their operational coordination. The first phase was held in Arabian Sea, second phase was held off the Chennai coast in Bay of Bengal and third near France’s Reunion Island in South Western Indian Ocean. Indian Navy’s destroyer, INS Mumbai, and frigate INS Trikand were the vessels participating in the exercise. Moreover, Indian Navy’s submarine, Kalvari, P8-1 and Dornier maritime patrol aircraft and MiG 29K fighter aircraft also had participated in the exercise.
5.       India and United States held the third round of the India-US Maritime Security Dialogue in Goa from April 30 to May 1, 2018 focussing on cooperation and developments in the Indo-Pacific region. During the third round of dialogue, both sides discussed developments in maritime domain in Indo-Pacific Region and exchanged views on ways to further strengthen bilateral maritime security cooperation.
6.     Blue Origin, a US aerospace company, launched the suborbital New Shepard rocket and space capsule from the Blue Origin’s West Texas launch site. This is the second flight of the New Shepard 2.0 spacecraft. New Shepard was launched to a target height of 351,000 feet. Blue Origin’s dummy astronaut is named “Mannequin Skywalker”. The payloads consist of an experiment for NASA’s Johnson Space Center, few others from European universities funded by the German Aerospace Center, and a “Schmitt Space Communicator” for Solstar Company.  It can carry commercial payloads and experiments. It consists of six windows for views of Earth from space. Blue Origin has not announced the ticket price to fly on New Shepard yet.
Economy:
1.        Interactive Robotic Assistant (IRA) 2.0, an interactive humanoid at its Koramangala Branch in Bengaluru, Karnataka was launched by HDFC bank. The interactive humanoid aims to enhance user experience for customers visiting in this branch. HDFC was first bank in India to introduce humanoid IRA 1.0 for customer service at Kamala Mills Branch in Mumbai in January 2o18. Currently, IRA 1.0 is stationed at Palarivattom Branch in Kochi.
2.       The core sector growth in March 2018 slowed to 4.1%, a three-month low due to weak performance in six sectors according to index of eight core industries released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry. These sectors are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel and electricity.
3.       India was ranked 11th position in the FDI Confidence Index 2018 released by global consultancy firm A T Kearney. It has slipped by three notches in 2018 as it was ranked 8th in 2017 and 9th in 2016. This is first time India fell out of the top 10 since 2015. Top 10 countries in FDI Confidence Index 2018 are United States (1st), Canada (2nd), Germany (3rd), United Kingdom (4th), China (5th), Japan (6th), France (7th), Australia (8th), Switzerland (9th) and Italy (10th).
4.     The 27th GST council discussed in detail the proposal of a concession of 2 percent in GST rate on B2C supplies, for which payment is made through cheque or digital mode, subject to a ceiling of Rs 100 per transaction. The council recommended for setting up of a Group of Ministers from State Governments to look into the proposal and make recommendations, before the next Council meeting. The Council also discussed the issue of imposition of sugar cess and reduction in GST rate on ethanol.
5.       The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into 200th Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreement (UAPA) after it singed one in April 2018. The total number of APAs entered into by CBDT so far has gone up to 220, which include 20 Bilateral APAs.
6.       On May 4, 2018, the World Bank said that India is doing extremely well on electrification with nearly 85 percent of the country's population having access to electricity. In the latest report, the World Bank said that India provided electricity to 30 million people each year between 2010 and 2016. 
Appointments/Resignations:
1.     Radhakrishnan Nair  is appointed as an additional (independent) director of ICICI bank for five years by ICICI Bank’s board.
Awards/Honours:
1.     President Ram Nath Kovind presented the 65th National Film Awards at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on May 3, 2018.In the history of the awards, it was for the first time that the President attended only the second half of the ceremony, honouring only a few of the winners. For 64 years, the President has been handing over the National Film Awards to all the recipients. The awardees were informed at the last minute that the President will present only 11 awards. Over 60 awardees signed a letter of protest addressed to the Directorate of Film Festivals, expressing their disappointment at the way the announcement was made.
2.     The Swedish Academy announced that the Nobel Prize in Literature will be not awarded this year following the sex-abuse allegations and other issues within its ranks that have stained the body’s reputation on May 4, 2018.The decision was taken in view of the reduced public confidence in the Academy. However, the 2018 prize will be given in 2019.It is the first time since 1943 that the prestigious award will not handed over.
3.     Adarsh Credit bagged the “Best Co-operative Society on digital platform” award in the BFSI leadership Awards 2018, at Hotel Eros in New Delhi.
Sports:
1.     World record holder Shahzar Rizvi has risen to the top of the world rankings in men's 10m air pistol in the latest International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) charts.  Other Indian in the top 10 is Jitu Rai, who is placed sixth, while Om Prakash Mitharval is placed 12th.
2.     India has lost the top spot in the ICC ODI team rankings to England following the annual update.  India lost a solitary point to be placed second with a total of 122 points.  England have thus gained eight points and moved to 125 points.  South Africa also dropped a place to be at the third position after losing four points, from 117 to 113. 
3.     Justin Langer  was appointed as the new coach of the Australian national cricket team by Cricket Australia
4.     Neeraj Goyat (Indian pugilist ) has been awarded the WBC Asia Boxer of the Year Award.
5.     Mohamed Salah of Liverpool football team has been named the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year for 2017/18. Mohamed Salah is the first African winner of the award. Fran Kirby of Chelsea team won the inaugural FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year award.








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