Current Affairs Daily Digest – May 20 2019
1. Kylian Mbappe voted best top-flight player in France
Paris St-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, who has already scored 32 goals this season, was named both the best player and best Under-21 player for the 2018-19 season on Sunday. German midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsan, who helped Olympique Lyonnais’ women’s team to a record-extending 13th consecutive league title and fourth straight Champions League crown, was named the best first division female player.
2. US approves Missile Sales to South Korea, Japan.
The United State recently approved Anti-Ballistic Missile sales to South Korea and Japan. The sale is worth more than $600 million and comes in backdrop of mounting tensions with North Korea.
In February 2019 second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was held in Vietnam. It ended with a deadlock, when US side refused North Korea’s demands of easing sanctions until Pyongyang takes major steps to end its nuclear program.
3. SIMBEX-2019: scheduled from 16 May to 22 May 2019.
After the completion of naval exercise IMDEX-19 recetly, the Kolkata Class Destroyers Indian Naval ships namely INS Kolkata and INS Shakti are participating in SIMBEX-2019.
SIMBEX (Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise) is an annual bilateral naval exercise between India and Singapore. It is being held from 16 May to 22 May 2019.
4. ISRO announces Seven Mega Missions.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), recently announced its planned seven mega missions, including Chandrayaan-2 (India’s second lunar exploration mission) which will be conducted over a period of next 10 years. The ISRO has also prepared a roadmap for next 30 years.
Out of seven missions Chandrayaan-2, will be flight ready by May 2019 and its spacecraft will be launched in July 2019.
The rest six are classified as..
- Defined Missions – which include XPoSat (to study cosmic radiation in 2020) and Aditya-L1(to the Sun in 2021).
- Undefined Missions – which include missions which are still in planning stage namely Mangalyaan-2 (or Mars Orbiter Mission-2 in 2022), Lunar Polar Exploration (or Chandrayaan-3 in 2024), Venus mission (in 2023), Exoworlds (exploration outside the solar system in 2028).
5. Nancy Pelosi: receives JFK Profile in Courage Award 2019.
The USA’s House of Representatives (lower house of US) Speaker Nancy Pelosi was honoured with 2019 John F Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
She has served in House of Representatives since 1987. She was recognized for putting national interest above her party’s interest, for her efforts to pass former President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care law (Obama Care) and also for helping Democrats reclaim control of U.S. House during 2018 elections.
6. Nilekani Panel on Digital Payments submits report to RBI.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed committee on ‘suggestions on promoting digital payment’ has submitted its report to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The committee was headed by Nandan Nilekani, also known as Aadhaar Architect.
In January 2019 RBI had set up a five-member panel headed by Nilekani, on deepening digital payments with a view of encouraging digitisation of payments and enhancing financial inclusion via digitisation.
7. India delivers First Pair of Mi-24 helicopters to Afghanistan
India recently handed over two Mi-24 attack helicopters to Afghanistan. The helicopters were formally handed over by Indian Ambassador to the acting Minister of National Defence of Afghanistan at Kabul Air Force base.
About Mi-24:
- It is a large helicopter gunship thus can be used for assault. It can also be used for transport missions as it can ferry up to eight people.
- Being a attack helicopters, it is designed to take on fortified enemy positions and locations prone to heavy ground fire to flying in troops.
8. National Training Workshop for 7th Economic Census organized
A comprehensive training strategy called National Training Workshop of Master Trainers to impart training to trainers engaged in upcoming 7th Economic Census was held at Indian Habitat Center in the New Delhi. It was organized by Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI).
The first Economic Census was undertaken in 1977. The 2nd edition was carried out in 1980 followed by 3rd EC in 1990. The 4th EC took place in 1998 while 5th EC was held in 2005. The Sixth edition of Economic Census was conducted in 2013.
9. ILFS Engineering appoints Karim Raza Khan as CEO
IL&FS Engineering appoints Karim Raza Khan as CEO. IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company Ltd. has appointed Kazim Raza Khan as its chief executive officer. Mr. Khan was appointed as the manager and key managerial personnel of the company on December 24, 2018.
Khan has an overall professional experience of over three decades in the technical field focused on infrastructure. He will continue to be key managerial personnel of the company.
10. PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal to spearhead Indian challenge at Sudirman Cup in China
PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal to spearhead Indian challenge at Sudirman Cup in ChinaSudirman Cup tournament will begin at the Guangxi Sports Center Gymnasium in Nanning, China . The Top shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will spearhead the Indian challenge at this prestigious tournament.
The Indian team will begin their campaign tomorrow against Malaysia in Group 1-D.India reached the quarterfinals twice in the 2011 and 2017 editions but failed to cross the last eight stage. Sudirman Cup is a mixed team Badminton Championship held every two years.
There are 12 elite teams that will take part in the tournament. Each group comprises of three teams, with the top two qualifyings for the quarterfinals.
11. Rafael Nadal claimed the Italian Open 2019 title
Rafael Nadal claimed the Italian Open 2019 title. Rafael Nadal has won a record 34th ATP Masters 1000 title by defeating Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open final 2019. This is his ninth Rome title. Nadal dominated in a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 win broke a tie with his longtime rival Djokovic.
For his victory, Nadal received 1,000 ATP Ranking points and earned ₹7.5 crore. Djokovic produced an error-strewn performance in his 54th meeting with Nadal.
After three semi-final defeats in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid, Nadal has returned to his best form ahead of Roland Garros and clinched his first title of the season.
12. BSNL partnered with Google for expanding WiFi footprint
BSNL partnered with Google for expanding WiFi footprint. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) partnered with Google on the occasion of World Telecom Day. The main objective is to expand BSNL Wifi footprint in the country.
Currently, there are around 38,000 BSNL Wifi hotspot locations working across the country and one can use these after buying the Wi-Fi vouchers worth of Rs 19 and more.
13. Kerala became first state to list Masala Bond in overseas market
Kerala became first state to list Masala Bond in overseas market. Kerala became the first state to tap into masala bond market by listing the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)’s masala bond worth of USD 312 million (Rs 2,150 crore) in London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s International Securities Market (ISM).
The masala bond has tenor of 5-year and a 9.723% coupon. Kerala’s state finance minister Thomas Issac executed this move. The main objective of this initiative was to tap masala bond market and to rebuild the infrastructure in Kerala from the proceeds of masala bond.
14. India sets Guinness World Records of largest laundry lesson with the participation of 400 young men
India sets Guinness World Records of largest laundry lesson with the participation of 400 young men.India achieved a Guinness World Records of ‘largest laundry lesson’ with the participation of 400 young Indian men. The event was a part of #sharetheload campaign.
It was done to share the responsibility of cleaning clothes at home along with the female members of the family. The event was initiated by Ariel India. It was hosted by Mandira Bedi and Indian Actor Anil Kapoor also joined the function.
Earlier, the largest laundry lesson was achieved by Lion NANOX Team (Japan) at Lion Hirai Research Laboratory in Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan on November 29, 2017. It had 318 people.
15 . May 20 – World Metrology Day
World Metrology Day is an event occurring on the 20th of May celebrating the International System of Units. The date is the anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875 . Metrology is the study of measurement. The World Metrology Day project is currently realized jointly by the BIPM and the OIML.
16. May 20 – World Bee Day
In order to further raise awareness of the importance of bees and to strengthen collaboration among stakeholders, the FAO and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Slovenia will jointly organize an event in observance of World Bee Day with a keynote address by Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Ms. Amina J. Mohammed.
