IMPORTANT DAYS
May 29 – International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers
Theme 2018- “70 Years of Service and Sacrifice.”
•May 29, offers a chance to pay tribute to the contributions of uniformed and civilian personnel to the work of the Organization and to honour more than 3,700 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948, including 129 who died last year.
NATIONAL
Kerala
World’s first fully solar powered airport
• The Cochin International Airport in Kerala is the first ever fully solar powered airport with an inauguration dedicated solar plant by generating electricity with eight small hydroelectric power projects and organic vegetation in the vicinity of the airport.
Assam
‘Brahmaputra Study Centre’ at Gauhati University
• “Brahmaputra Study Centre” being set up within the Gauhati University will offer an opportunity for research in different aspects of river Brahmaputra in physics, hydrology, waterways, environment, disaster/flood management, hydro-power production etc.
• Fund of about Rs. 28 crore will be provided by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
Rajasthan
Agreement with World Bank for the Strengthening of Public Financial Management
• Project to contribute to improved Budget Execution, enhanced Accountability and greater efficiency in Revenue Administration in Rajasthan.
• An Agreement for IBRD Credit of USD 21.7 Million from World Bank for the Strengthening of Public Financial Management in Rajasthan Project was signed in New Delhi.
Haryana
Noise Vibration & Harshness (NVH) Lab
• Union Cabinet Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprise (HI & PE), Anant Geete inaugurated the augmented facilities (Noise Vibration & Harshness (NVH) Lab) at the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) at the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) at Manesar in Haryana.
New Delhi
The PANKHA
• Union Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Jual Oram launches exhibition cum sale event ‘the Pankha’ (Hand-Fans) through TRIFED and TRIBES India.
• The Pankhas, a range of exotic hand fans draws inspiration from the eminent Artist, Shri Jatin Das and from his collection of 10000 handmade Pankhas.
Gujarat
‘Reuse of Treated Waste Water Policy’
• Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani released the ‘Reuse of Treated Waste Water Policy’ to create water-grid, on the lines of power-grid, for reuse of the treated waste water from urban areas.
• The plan is to set up set up sewage treatment plant in each and every municipal corporation and over 150 municipalities.
Bihar
Fisheries College at Kishanganj
• Bihar Cabinet gave its nod to set up a Fisheries College at Kishanganj at a cost of Rs 40.31 crore.
INTERNATIONAL
Azerbaijan inaugurates European gas pipeline
• Azerbaijan inaugurated a pipeline that will eventually create the first direct route to transport gas from one of the world’s largest fields to Europe bypassing Russia.
SCIENCE
Tiny lab to search for alien life on Mars
• Scientists have created a toaster oven-sized lab for a Mars rover that will drill beneath the surface of the red planet and look for signs of past or present life.
• The tiny chemistry lab called the Mars Organic Molecule Analyser (MOMA) is a key instrument on the ExoMars Rover, a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Russian space agency Roscosmos, with a significant contribution to MOMA from NASA.
• It will be launched toward the Mars in July 2020.
Hidden mountain ranges discovered under Antarctica ice
• Researchers have discovered mountain ranges and three huge, deep subglacial valleys hidden beneath the Antarctica ice.
• The findings are the first to emerge from extensive ice penetrating radar data collected in Antarctica as part of the European Space Agency PolarGAP project.
Bacteria-coated broccoli sent to space
• Scientists have sent broccoli seeds coated with a healthy dose of good bacteria to space in a quest to find a viable way for astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) to grow their own vegetables.
• Six broccoli seeds were aboard the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft that launched this week from Wallops Island, Virginia, as part of a space station cargo resupply mission.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Swadeshi Samriddhi SIM cards
• Patanjali ties up with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to launch ‘Swadeshi Samriddhi’ SIM cards.
MOU, AGREEMENTS & CABINET APPROVALS
Ministry of Women and Child Development signs an MoU with Government of Uttar Pradesh
• The Ministry of Women and Child and Development, Government of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh, in New Delhi for management of Home of Widows at Sunrakh Bangar, Vrindavan.
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development has constructed this shelter home for widows with a capacity of 1000 inmates.
SUMMITS & CONFERENCES
2018 Global Wind Summit Hamburg
• The first edition of the Global Wind Summit will be held here from September 25-28, 2018.
• India is fourth largest country after China, the US and Germany in terms of wind energy installation capacity at around 33 GW adding the government has set a target of achieving 60 GW by 2022.
AWARDS
First Indian to receive Linnean Medal
• Indian botanist Kamaljit S. Bawa, president of Bengaluru-based non-profit Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), received the prestigious Linnean Medal in Botany from the Linnean Society of London.
• Dr. Bawa is the first Indian to win the award ever since it was first constituted in 1888.
APPOINTMENTS
Indian Journalists Union (IJU)
- Amar Devulapalli – President
- Sabina Inderjit – Secretary general
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC)
• Justice R K Agrawal – President
Kummanam Rajasekharan – 18th Governor of Mizoram
Sanjay Mitra – Chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
APP & WEBPORTAL
PRAAPTI App and Web portal
• PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators) App and web portal has been developed to bring transparency in power purchase transactions between Generators and Discoms.