Current Affairs Updates - 10th May 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 10th May 2018

Current Affairs Updates for 10th May 2018 consists of all the news headlines based on the Current Affairs where all the important news have been given in bullet points. These have been picked up from our Latest News Headlines and are vital for the upcoming examinations of Bank, Rail and SSC and Railway. Aspirants are supposed to go through these in details to get a better understanding of the topics given here under different sections of National, International, Schemes, Obituary, Programmes, Appointments and Events. You may also like Daily Current Affairs Quiz and Static GK and One Liner Note Down Points.

New Appointments: National

Google names Nitin Bawankule head of India cloud business 

• Google said it had appointed Nitin Bawankule as the country head for its cloud business in India, as the search giant looks at taking a larger share of the booming demand for those services in the country. 

Facebook has announced that the company's Vice President of Product Chris Daniels will be taking over Whatsapp after Co-founder Jan Koum announced his departure last week. 

• In his new role, former Internet.org VP Daniels will report to Facebook's Chief Product Officer. Daniels has been working with Facebook for more than seven years and previously worked for Microsoft in product management.

New Appointments: International

Carlos Alvarado sworn in as Costa Rican president

• Journalist Carlos Alvarado was sworn in Tuesday as Costa Rica's president through 2022, promising a "plural" and inclusive government following an election and runoff where same-sex marriage became a key issue.

The Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) on Tuesday gave its mandate to Dmitry Medvedev for a new term as prime minister.

• Medvedev's candidature for the prime minister's seat was proposed by President Vladimir Putin on Monday after the inauguration of his fourth term as Russia's president.

Banking, Economic & Financial Affairs

According to International Monetary fund, India fastest growing economy at 7.4 per cent in 2018 

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reaffirmed on Wednesday that India will be the fastest growing major economy in 2018, with a growth rate of 7.4 per cent that rises to 7.8 per cent in 2019 with medium-term prospects remaining positive. 

Rankings & Indexes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ranked 9th among 75 most powerful globally in US magazine Forbes' 2018 list, Xi Jinping tops

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi figures among the 10 most powerful people in the world in US magazine Forbes' 2018 list that is topped by Chinese President Xi Jinping, while Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani is the only Indian businessman to feature in the list of 75.

With business sentiment at the "weakest" in four years, India slipped to the 6th position globally in the business optimism index for the first quarter of this year, says a survey. 

• Business optimism is however at an "all-time high" globally with the index at net 61 per cent, the highest figure recorded in 15 years of research, as per Grant Thornton's quarterly global business survey released today. 

National Affairs

Rajasthan institute comes up with new sheep insemination technique

• Scientists at the Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute (CSWRI), Avikanagar, have come up with a new laparascope-assisted insemination technique for sheep, which has resolved the difficulties involved in freezing of semen and inability to transit the tortuous reproductive tract of the ruminant mammals kept as livestock.

US retail giant Walmart Inc will pick up a 77% stake in India’s largest online retailer Flipkart for $16 billion, successfully concluding more than 20 months of talks, in what will be the country’s largest acquisition and the world’s biggest purchase of an ecommerce company. 

• The transaction will result in the largest exit for private equity and venture capital investors in India — they’re expected to collectively make about $14 billion by selling shares to Walmart. 

Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCXNSE 2.76 %) will launch options trading with crude oil (100 barrels) futures as the underlying on May 15, 2018. 

• The exchange received SEBI’s approval for the launch last week. The crude oil option contracts on the exchange platform will complement its popular crude oil futures contracts and enlarge the crude oil product offerings on the exchange. 

The Madhya Pradesh government on launched the country's first Integrated Control and Command Centre (ICCC) for all seven smart cities of the state in Bhopal.

• Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Satna, and Sagar are the seven smart cities under SCM in Madhya Pradesh.

The government will come out with a Producers Price Index (PPI) next month for 10 services including telecom and railways on experimental basis 

• The move will help track inflation in these services, which will also include ports, postal, insurance, banking, transportation and air travel. 

Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) has in its 2018 edition approved modern, animal-free tests for drug manufacturers

• It replaces pyrogen test carried out on rabbits and abnormal toxicity test carried out on guinea pigs and mice with tests that can be done in test tube.

International Affairs

Armenia protest leader Nikol Pashinyan elected prime minister

• The Armenian parliament has elected opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan as the country's new prime minister, after an outpouring of populist anger against the ruling elite in the former Soviet republic.

A UN report on the Asia-Pacific region has urged the regional powers to invest in inclusive and sustainable growth. 

• The UN Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2018, the annual report from the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific was launched here on Tuesday and urged countries to take advantage of high growth rate and share the benefits with the national society.

Agreements/ MoUs Signed

The National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) has recently signed a MOU with Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) for the year 2018-19.

• The said MoU envision provision of enhanced services by NSIC under its marketing, financial, technology and other support services schemes, for MSMEs in the country.

Uber teams with NASA to make flying cars a reality

• In 2016, Uber unveiled plans to develop electric flying cars to help improve transportation in cities, alleviate congestion and provide affordable transportation. NASA became a partner for the program a year later by developing air traffic management for a fleet of flying cars.

Summit /Conference / Events

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced  a climate summit set to take place in September 2019 in New York to review the Paris Agreement commitments.

• The UN chief said that there is a "need to adopt collective measures to steer the world away from this path that leads to suicide," adding that any new plans must be based on "investing in resilient development with low carbon emissions."

The 2018 World Robot Conference will be held in Beijing from August 15 to 19.

• The event will see over 12,000 competing teams and 50,000 participants from more than 10 countries and regions, Xinhua news agency reported.
• A robot competition will be held during the conference where participants will compete in five categories.

Awards & Honours: Miscellaneous

Nisha Bhalla conferred with 'WEF 2018' award

• Nisha Bhalla, a 46-year-old holistic coach and consultant from Mumbai was felicitated at the recently concluded Annual WEF 2018 Awards, where she also spoke about 'Economics of Goodness in Giving and Philanthropy'. 
• The event was held at Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka in Delhi from April 26 to May 1. Nisha was presented the 'Excellent Woman of Excellence' award for her spiritual service at the event on April 28.