Current Affairs Updates - 14th May 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 14th May 2018

Current Affairs Updates for 14th May 2018 includes some of the vital news headlines such as Index of Industrial Production (IIP),  launch of 'Rythu Bandhu' Scheme, India and Myanmar signed seven agreements, MoU between India and South Asian Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) and some more. All of these news have been placed  under different sections such as National, International Affairs, Schemes, Obituary, Awards, Banking and Miscellaneous. Aspirants should go through these in details to get a better understanding of the topics along with some other articles such as Daily Static GK Note Down Points and One Liner and Daily Current Affairs Quiz.

Important Days

International Nurses Day (IND) is an international day celebrated around the world on 12 May

• In 1953 Dorothy Sutherland, an official with the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, proposed that President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaim a "Nurses' Day"; he did not approve it.

World Migratory Bird Day 2018 is celebrated on 12th and 13th May. Theme "Unifying our Voices for Bird Conservation"

• Marked with the theme "Unifying our Voices for Bird Conservation", the World Migratory Bird Day 2018, celebrated across the world on every second saturday in May, calls for securing and conserving the flyways used by the migratory birds for domestic and international migration.

Committees in News

The government has constituted a special committee to suggest ways for better securing airport cargo terminals in the country against terror threats as it has a bearing on the overall safety of adjoining passenger terminals. 

• The committee will have representatives from the Home Ministry, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the Intelligence Bureau and few other cargo handling agencies. 

Rankings & Indexes

Index of Industrial Production (IIP) posted a growth of 4.4 per cent in March 2018.

• This is the slowest industrial output has grown in the past five months.

National Affairs

Punjab gets major fillip in industrial development of state where 21 mega companies to be set up in Ludhiana

• Due to favourable policies introduced by CM Amarinder Singh, Punjab has got a major fillip to the industrial development in the state. Notably, Punjab government signed a MoU with 21 industrial houses in Ludhiana, worth Rs 1336.87 crore.

The Jammu and Kashmir government abolished stamp duty on sale of properties registered in the name of women.

• The state Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, sanctioned reduction of stamp duty and no stamp duty in case the property is registered in the name of a female member of the family.

SC nods for compensation scheme for sexual assault and acid attack victims 

• As per the 'Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/Other Crimes-2018', in case of rape and unnatural sexual assault, the victim would get a minimum of Rs four lakh and maximum of Rs seven lakh as compensation. 

UNDP to set up skill development centre in Hyderabad

• Aimed at empowering vulnerable and marginalised women by imparting skills training, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will soon set up a skill development centre at 'Bharosa,' an integrated support centre for distressed women and children here.

The commerce and industry ministry has started the exercise to revise base year to 2017-18 for computation of wholesale inflation with a view to present more realistic picture of the price situation.

• In May last year, the government revised the base year for WPI-based inflation to 2011-12 to give a better indication of changes in prices of commodities.

Govt set to expand Buddhist tourism circuit to 21 more states

• The Ministry of Tourism has identified stupas and viharas in these states, around which small intra-state Buddhist zones will be developed. These include the election-bound states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, as also Kerala, West Bengal, Goa, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir.

India was the largest remittance- receiving country in the world, with migrant workers from the country sending home USD 69 billion 

• The report 'RemitSCOPE - Remittance markets and opportunities - Asia and the Pacific' said India (USD 69 billion), China (USD 64 billion) and the Philippines (USD 33 billion) are the three largest remittance- receiving countries in the world in 2017. 

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) sent the first cargo vessel with two million barrels of crude oil for India's strategic petroleum reserve (SPR).

• Oil and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan along with ADNOC Director-General and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber flagged off the first consignment of ADNOC crude oil for SPR facility of Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) at the ADNOC headquarters Panorama Digital Command Centre in Abu Dhabi.

International Affairs

North Korea pledges to dismantle nuclear site in May ceremony

• North Korea says it will begin dismantling its nuclear test site in less than two weeks in a ceremony attended by foreign journalists.

UN’s top nuclear inspector Tero Varjoranta resigns suddenly

• Varjoranta, who was in the role for almost five years, will be replaced temporarily by Massimo Aparo, an Italian nuclear engineer who was most recently the agency’s top inspector for Iran.

Science & Technology

SpaceX blasted off its newest and most powerful Falcon 9 rocket, known as the Block 5, carrying the first high-orbit communications satellite for Bangladesh and marking a leap forward in re-usability for the California-based aerospace company.

• The rocket is designed to require far less maintenance and refurbishment between flights, and is certified to carry humans to space later this year when SpaceX launches its Dragon crew capsule to the International Space Station.

Defence & Railway News

Indian Railway is likely to spend almost Rs 90,000 crore to improve connectivity in the northeast by 2020

• Of these, Mizoram capital Aizawl is likely to be connected first with the new line between Bhairabi and Sairang (51.38km) in advanced stage of construction.

The Indian Army has tested in the desert terrain of Rajasthan the military concept of 'Air Cavalry' that was used by the US Army to locate and assault enemy ground forces during the Vietnam War

• To enhance its defence capabilities, the Army tested the concept under which weaponised helicopters carry out combined action against the enemy in coordination with tanks and mechanised ground forces.

Books & Authors

The book 'Across the Bench - Insight into the Indian Military Judicial System' by Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan

• The book deals with military judicial system vis-a-vis command and management issues within the military establishments besides the whole gamut of issues relating to veterans, their families and dependents.

Application / Portal 

The information and broadcasting ministry said it will set up a dedicated web portal to disseminate information on filming facilities available in the country.

• The portal will also provide an overview such locations.   Applications for shooting permission will be accepted through the site, an official release said.

Schemes / Programme

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao launches 'Rythu Bandhu' scheme where Rs 8,000 per acre per year will be given to all farmers who own land.

• Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao claimed it to be the first such initiative in the country.

Agreements/ MoUs Signed

India and Russia strengthen ties discussing issues related to security and enhancing bilateral contacts

• With the aim of combating terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on 11 May, discussing issues as a part of regular contacts between the two countries' security councils.

India and Myanmar signed seven agreements including one on land border 

• Sushma Swaraj discussed with the top leadership here issues related to peace and security and developments in the Rakhine State from where thousands of Rohingya Muslims had fled to Bangladesh after violence last year.

The Maharashtra government signed an MoU with the Centres Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) Council to train state PWD officials to rate government buildings.

• As per the agreement signed, the GRIHA Council, a green rating body under the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, would train PWD's civil and electrical engineers and architects to rate government buildings as per its parameters.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and South Asian Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) for co-operation on the response to oil and chemical pollution in the South Asian seas in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo.

• The MoU intends to promote closer cooperation between India and other maritime nations comprising the South Asian seas region namely Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for protection and preservation of the marine environment in the region.

Summit /Conference / Events

Indian Customs and Department of India Posts held a First ever Joint Conference at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi

• Commissioners of Customs from all the States having Foreign Post Offices (FPOs) were present along with their counterpart Post Master Generals. 

Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced to host the 2018 Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit.

• During his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nepali Prime Minister said Nepal will hold the BIMSTEC summit, while expressing commitment towards building the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal initiative.

Awards & Honours: Sports

Indian duo Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy storms into semi-finals of Australian Open

• The Indian duo of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy on Friday entered into the semi-finals of the Men’s doubles event of Australian Open 2018.

Czech 10th seed Petra Kvitova won the Madrid Open title for the third time 

• Kvitova, who was also the champion in Madrid in 2011 and 2015, has now claimed four titles in 2018 after triumphs in St Petersburg, Doha and last weekend in Prague.

Awards & Honours: Miscellaneous

Oscar-winning film editor Anne V. Coates dies at 92

• Oscar-winning film editor Anne V. Coates, widely considered one of the greatest in her field whose many credits include such disparate works as "Lawrence of Arabia," ''The Elephant Man" and "Fifty Shades of Grey," has died.

Proffesor Muhammad Yunus conferred KISS Humanitarian Award 2018

• Nobel laureate and noted economist Muhammad Yunus today called for imagining a system that creates wealth for everybody in the world.

The seed centre at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) here has bagged an award for excellence in research on seed technology.

• The best performance centre award was presented at the three-day 33rd annual group meeting of the all-India coordinated research project (AICRP) on national seed projects (crops) that concluded in Karaikal.