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CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
India elected to Executive Board of first UN-Habitat Assembly
- India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly.
- India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly at the Plenary Session of the Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya.
- The special theme for the UN-Habitat Assembly is “Innovation for Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities”.
| USEFUL INFO |
| United Nations Human Settlements Programme Headquarters | Nairobi, Kenya |
| United Nations Human Settlements Programme Head | MaimunahMohd Sharif |
Sri Lanka, Japan, India sign deal to develop East Container Terminal at Colombo Port
- Sri Lanka, Japan and India signed an agreement to jointly develop the East Container Terminal at the Colombo Port.
- The joint initiative is estimated to cost between $500 million and $700 million.
- The signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) is significant, given that the countries had been negotiating the deal since last year, with little success.
- As per the agreement signed, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) retains 100% ownership of the East Container Terminal (ECT), while the Terminal Operations Company, conducting its operations, is jointly owned.
- Sri Lanka will hold a 51 per cent-stake in the project and the joint venture partners will retain 49%.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Sri Lanka Capital | Colombo, Sri JayawardenepuraKotte |
| Sri Lanka Currency | Sri Lankan Rupee |
| Sri Lanka Prime Minister | RanilWickremesinghe |
| Japan Capital | Tokyo |
| Japan Currency | Japanese yen |
| Japan President | Shinzo Abe |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE
Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma Launches ‘Aroma Mission’
- The Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangmahave made yet another effort to strengthen the economy of the hill state by ushering in employment opportunities for the people by launching the ‘Meghalaya Aroma Mission 2019’.
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants-CIMAP and the MBDA (Meghalaya Basin Development Authority) for collaborative work on medicinal and aromatic plants.
- This partnership is expected to strengthen the livelihood condition of farmers and create employment opportunities in the State.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Meghalaya Capital | Shillong |
| CM | Conrad Sangma |
| Governor | Tathagata Roy |
Telangana to have India’s first blockchain district
- With Blockchain estimated to generate $3 trillion a year in business value by 2030, the government of Telangana is gearing up to leverage this opportunity by developing a conducive ecosystem for Blockchain in the state.
- Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana is uniquely positioned to take a leadership role in the development of blockchain technology due to the critical mass of industries leveraging blockchain technology located in Hyderabad (financial services, insurance, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, supply chain and logistics etc.), access to talent, support of entrepreneurship, and collaboration with enterprises.
- The state wants to make Hyderabad one of the top 10 Blockchain cities of the world and has decided to create India’s first ‘Blockchain District’, which will be a physical area within Hyderabad and with the aim to create the world’s best blockchain technology ecosystem.
- The Blockchain District will house all major blockchain technology companies, will have a huge incubator and a world-class facility for promoting research, innovation and industry collaboration. This one of its kind initiatives will aim to put all blockchain companies based out of Hyderabad at a strategically advantageous position globally.
| USEFUL INFO |
| TelanganaCapital | Hyderabad |
| CM | Chandrasekhar Rao |
| Governor | ESL Narashiman |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
RBI extends timings for RTGS from 4:30 pm to 6 pm
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended timings for customer transactions in the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system to 6 pm from 4:30 pm. The new time window for RTGS will come into effect from June 1.
- The RTGS is an online fund transfer system, supported by the RBI, which enables transmission on a real-time basis. The minimum amount for the transaction to be eligible as an RTGS transfer is Rs 2 lakh.
- As per RBI data, Rs 112 lakh crore worth of transactions were processed using RTGS in April 2019.
- The customer is charged a ‘time-varying charge’ on each outward transaction in addition to the flat processing charge.The fee for transfers between 8 am to 11 am is nil, from 11 am to 1 pm is Rs 2, and from 1 pm to 6 pm is Rs 5. The fee for transfers made after the initial cut off of 6 pm will be Rs 10.
- The initial cut off for customer transactions will be 6 pm and the final cut off for inter-bank transactions will be 7:45 pm. The IDL reversal will take place between 7:45 pm and 8 pm.
| USEFUL INFO |
| RBIHeadquarters | Mumbai |
| RBIGovernor | Shaktikanta Das |
| RBIDeputy Governors | M. K. Jain, B.P. Kanungo, Viral V. Acharya and N. S. Vishwanathan |
Indian Overseas Bank launches ‘Bank on W heels’ facility
- Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has launched ‘Bank on Wheels’ facility in 14 of its lead districts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, besides Vijayawada.
- The bank said the mobile van facility will enable the public, especially senior citizens, conveniently get door-step banking facility available at identified locations of the lead districts.
- A dedicated banking correspondent will accompany the vehicle with a micro ATM inside the van to take care of services such as account opening, enrollment of customers in Social Security Scheme, passbook printing, and other in Tamil Nadu.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Indian Overseas Bank Headquarters | Chennai |
| CEO | R Subramaniya Kumar |
| Tagline | Good people to grow with |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION
Naveen Patnaik takes oath as Odisha CM for 5th term
- In Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has taken oath as Chief Minister for the consecutive fifth time.
- Governor Prof. GaneshiLal has administered the oath-taking ceremony at exhibition ground in Bhubaneswar.
- 11 Cabinet Ministers and 9 other Ministers also have taken the oath.
- There are ten new faces in Naveen’s Ministry this time. Out of three women ministers, two are new faces.
- President Ram NathKovind has congratulated Naveen Patnaik on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha.
| USEFUL INFO |
| OdishaCapital | Bhubaneswar |
| CM | Naveen Patnaik |
| Governor | GaneshiLal |
Malawi’s President Mutharika re-elected to second term
- Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika has narrowly won re-election with 38 per cent of the votes in Presidential election.
- Opposition candidate Lazarus Chakwera, who came in a close second with 35 per cent of the votes.
- Former vice president SaulosChilima came in third with 20 per cent of the ballots.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Malawi Capital | Lilongwe |
| Malawi Currency | Malawian kwacha |
| Malawi President | Peter Mutharika |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS
Statue of Unity enters 2019 World Architecture News Awards
- The world’s tallest, Statue of Unity in Gujarat built by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), has entered the globally-acclaimed 2019 World Architecture News (WAN) Awards.
- The WAN Awards showcase the best international design in current and future projects, and the award ceremony is likely to be held in July.
- The Statue of Unity was by far one of the most complex and challenging assignments we have executed and being featured along with several other global engineering marvels is a truly remarkable achievement, not only for L&T but for the entire nation.
- The statue, designed by Maharashtra’s legendary architect Ram V. Sutar, was conceived as a naturalistic depiction of Sardar Patel in his characteristic style in a walking pose, rising out of a star-shaped geometric base that covers the entire Sadhu Hill.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS
Hindi version of Digital Dilemma launched by Oscar academy President John Bailey
- President of Oscar Academy, John Bailey today e-launched the Hindi translation of an Academy Publication, “Digital Dilemma”, at a function in Delhi.
- The translation of the Academy publication into Hindi is important in order to reach out to film fraternity in India.
- National Film Archive of India had signed anMoU with the Academy to translate the publication into Hindi so that it can benefit various stakeholders in the country. The Academy works towards the goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion pictures.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE
Indo-French bilateral naval exercise ‘Varuna-19’ concludes
- The second part of the Indo-French naval exercise, christened as Varuna 19.2 was held from 22nd to 25th May 2019 in Djibouti.
- The first part of the exercise, Varuna 19.1 was held off the Goa coast from 1st to 10th May 19.
- The harbour phase of the exercise at Goa included professional interactions and discussions while the sea phase in Djibouti comprised various drills across the spectrum of maritime operations.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU
NSIC signs MOU with Ministry of MSME for the Year 2018-19
- The National Small Industries Corporation Limited, NSIC signed anMoU with Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises for the year 2019-20.
- The MoU envisages provision of enhanced services by NSIC under its marketing, financial, technology and other support services schemes for MSMEs in the country.
- The Corporation projects to increase revenue from operation by 22 per cent from two thousand 540 crore rupees in the year 2018-19 to three thousand 100 crore rupees in the year 2019-20.