May 18 Current Affairs
IMPORTANT DAYS
May 18 – World AIDS Vaccination day
NATIONAL
Jammu and Kashmir
Zojila Tunnel
- The Prime Minister will unveil a plaque to mark the commencement of work on the Zojila Tunnel.
- The 14 km long Zojila tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel.The construction of this tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.
Kerala
Southwest monsoon
- The southwest monsoon is expected to hit Kerala on May 29, three days ahead of its normal onset date, the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Andhra Pradesh
Lineman invents pole climber
- AP-Genco Managing Director and AP-Transco CMD K. Vijayanand felicitated M.Tirupati Rao, an electrical lineman for inventing a pole climber.
INTERNATIONAL
US approves new drug for prevention of migraines
- Aimovig is the first in a new class of drugs that work by blocking the activity of calcitonin gene-related peptide for migraine prevention.
SCIENCE
New device to detect and remove arsenic in water
- ADO Additives and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata, have devised a solution to detect the level of arsenic in water and also to remove it.
- West Bengal has the highest number of arsenic-affected people in the country.
NASA satellites reveal freshwater decline in India
- India is among the hotspots where overuse of water resources has caused a serious decline in the availability of freshwater, according to a first-of-its-kind study using an array of NASA satellite observations of Earth.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Parcel Cargo Express Train (PCET)
- A single PCET can carry consignment equivalent to 52 nos. of trucks. This will ensure less Carbon Emission which will contribute for Green India & saving of foreign exchange on account of purchasing of fuel.
- The route of this Parcel Cargo Express Train – Guwahati in Assam to Kalyan in Maharashtra.
India to grow at 7.6% in 2018-19: U.N. report
- India’s economic growth is expected to climb to 7.5% in 2017-18 and 7.6% in 2018-19 United Nations report.
NITI Aayog’s three day Venture Capital Symposium 2018 begins
- 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.
DoT okays eSIMs
- The Department of Telecommunications has allowed the use of eSIM or ‘Embedded-Subscriber Identity Module’.
- The eSIM is a virtual equivalent of normal SIM cards and come embedded in the device. These cannot be removed from the device but can be updated over-the-air.
MOU, AGREEMENTS & CABINET APPROVALS
India and Indonesia to promote bilateral cooperation in maritime & infrastructure sector
- Developing collaboration in Maritime Training & Education between India & Indonesia, both the ministers were keen to draw up an MOU between Indian Maritime University & Indonesian institutes for maritime studies.
Delhi cabinet gives approval for procuring 1000 buses under cluster scheme
- The Delhi Cabinet today gave its principle nod to a proposal for procurement of 1000 CNG-run standard floor buses for the cluster scheme, subject to approval by the court.
SUMMITS & CONFERENCES
4th BRICS Ministerial meeting in Durban, South Africa
- India has called for a judicious use of resources amidst concerns over resource depletion and scarcity.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO) Cultural Ministers Meeting
- The Minister of State for Culture, Dr Mahesh Sharma led the Indian delegation to the 15th Meeting of the Cultural Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO) Member States held in Sanya, Hainan province, on 16th and 17thMay, 2018. India participated for the first time at the Meeting of Cultural Ministers of the SCO.
RANKINGS & INDEXES
World’s largest city UN report
- Delhi will become the world’s largest city in a decade, according to the UN. The Indian capital city will overtake Tokyo as the world’s largest urban agglomeration by 2030 and have a population of 43.3 million by 2035, according to a UN report.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
‘A Treatise on Cleanliness’ & ‘Waste Management, an Introduction’
- The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that cleanliness ensures hygiene and disease prevention and it also creates a sense of social well-being and good mental health.
- He was addressing the gathering after releasing two books – ‘A Treatise on Cleanliness’ and ‘Waste Management, an Introduction’, authored by Shri Rajat Bhargava.
AWARDS
S&P PLATTS Global Metals Award
- NMDC Limited has bagged the prestigious S&P Global PLATTS Global Metals Award 2018 in corporate social responsibility (CSR) category held on 17.05.2018 at London.
- NMDC is the largest iron ore mining company in India.
- This is the first time since inception of this award that an Indian Company bagged an award in this category.
Kerala Tourism gets an FB laurel
- Kerala Tourism’s Facebook page has notched up 1.5 million ‘likes’ to emerge on top among the State tourism boards in the country in 2017.
- Kerala has pipped the Facebook pages of Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat Tourism to second and third places.
APPOINTMENTS
Chief justice of Manipur high court
- Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar sworn-in as the chief justice of the high court of Manipur.
- The acting governor of Manipur Jagdish Mukhi administered the oath of office to Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar at Raj Bhavan.
NHAI chairman
- Yudhvir Singh Malik, the Secretary of Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, has been given additional charge of the post of The National Highways Authority of India(NHAI) chairman.
Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies
- Renowned Indian academic and foreign policy analyst C Raja Mohan has been appointed as director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, a think tank of the National University of Singapore.
Vice-President of Badminton Asia Confederation
- Himanta Biswa Sarma elected as the Vice-President of Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) during the Annual General Meeting.
Gina Haspel – CIA’s first female director
- Gina Haspel to become the first woman to ever head the CIA, the premier US espionage agency.