Current Affairs Daily Digest – May 17 2019
1. Kerala Assembly to Digitize all its Records
The Kerala Legislative Assembly recently announced an initiative to digitize all its records and proceedings under its ambitious project called E-Vidhan which enables state legislature to go fully digital and completely paperless.
It is expected that if Kerala Assembly shifts completely into e-space it will save time as well as printing costs of about Rs.35 crore to Rs.49 crore …
2 Federer, Nadal, Djokovic through to last-8 in Rome Masters
Swiss tennis great Roger Federer, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, and Spaniard Rafael Nadal all reached the last-8 stage at the Rome Masters. Djokovic will face Juan Martin del Potro, while Federer will play against 20-year-old Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. Nadal will face off against compatriot Fernando Verdasco, while Japan’s Kei Nishikori will play against Diego Schwartzman.
3. 2 teams jointly win $10 million in Elon Musk-backed XPRIZE
Two teams have jointly won $10-million prize of Global Learning XPRIZE, which counts Elon Musk among supporters and benefactors. Kitkit School, from the US and South Korea and Onebillion from the UK and Kenya, both developed tablet apps to aid student learning.
Bengaluru’s Chimple was among five finalists in 2017, which received $1 million and tested their technology in Tanzania.
4. Taiwan becomes 1st Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage
Taiwan has become the first Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage following a vote on Friday. In 2017, the island’s constitutional court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry. Taiwan’s parliament was given a two-year deadline and was required to pass the changes by May 24.
5 Federer, Nadal, Djokovic through to last-8 in Rome Masters
Swiss tennis great Roger Federer, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, and Spaniard Rafael Nadal all reached the last-8 stage at the Rome Masters. Djokovic will face Juan Martin del Potro, while Federer will play against 20-year-old Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. Nadal will face off against compatriot Fernando Verdasco, while Japan’s Kei Nishikori will play against Diego Schwartzman.
6. Sir Andy Murray receives knighthood at Buckingham Palace
Three-time Grand Slam champion Sir Andy Murray today received his knighthood at Buckingham Palace, more than two years after he was awarded the honour.
The 32-year-old said that he would have liked to bring his children to the ceremony, but felt that his daughters were too young. Murray received his knighthood from Prince Charles.
7. Indian YouTuber ‘CarryMinati’ among TIME’s Next Generation Leaders
India’s 19-year-old YouTuber Ajey Nagar, who runs the YouTube channel ‘CarryMinati’, has been named among TIME Magazine’s 10 Next Generation Leaders for 2019.
Nagar, whose channel has over 68 lakh subscribers, uploads commentaries, roasts and reaction videos. The list also features Sweden’s 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg and America’s 35-year-old actor-singer Tessa Thompson.
8. Retd. Justice Madan Lokur Appointed Judge of Supreme Court of Fiji…
Justice Lokur is appointed as a judge of Supreme Court of Fiji’s non-resident panel. He will assume charge of his new role on 15 August 2019.He has been appointed in new role for a period of three years.
On December 31 2018, Justice Lokur demitted the office as a Supreme Court justice after his superannuation. It is likely that Justice Lokur received the offer from Chief Justice of the Fiji Supreme Court on the day of his retirement itself.
9.2019 World Cup winners to get ₹28 crore, highest-ever prize money
The winners of the 10-team 2019 ICC World Cup will be awarded $4 million (₹28 crore), the highest-ever prize money for a World Cup-winning team.
The runners-up will be awarded $2 million (₹14 crore), while the losing semi-finalists get $800,000 (₹5.6 crore) each. The winner of each league stage match will get $40,000 (₹28 lakh).
10. Wasim Jaffer joins Bangladesh academy as batting coach
The Bangladesh Cricket Board has appointed former India opener Wasim Jaffer as the batting coach of their high-performance academy in Dhaka. As per his contract, Jaffer will be stationed in Dhaka for six months in a year. “I’ve said in the past that I want to be part of coaching… I will be going to Dhaka in June,” Jaffer said.
11. Former Apple retail chief & Burberry CEO joins Airbnb board
US-based home-renting platform Airbnb has appointed Angela Ahrendts, former Senior Vice President of Retail at Apple, as its third independent non-affiliated board member.
Ahrendts joined Apple in 2014 after serving as CEO of the British fashion house Burberry for eight years. Notably, Ahrendts had been one of the highest-paid employees at Apple with total compensation of $26.5 million in 2018.
12. Government implements Project ‘SPARROW-CBIC’ for online writing of APAR…
Government of India has now implemented Project ‘SPARROW-CBIC’ for online writing of Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) in SPARROW, for over. The term SPARROW stands for ‘Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window’.
Project leverages modern technology for enhancing morale and overall efficiency of everyone working in Central GST and Customs formations of CBIC. It serves as an important milestone in journey towards digitisation and paper less working.
13.India Signs ‘Christchurch Call to Action’ Initiative.
India has recently joined a major global initiative called ‘Christchurch call to action’ to combat extremism and terrorism online and make internet a safe and secure place. It was signed by a group of governments and major tech companies at a summit in Paris.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron recently launched an ambitious new initiative called “Christchurch Call”, which is aimed at curbing extremism online.A total of 18 countries including European Union (EU) supported the initiative along representatives of online giants like Facebook, Google, YouTube, Twitter.
