IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MAY
24th, 2018
1. India has
jumped one spot to 44th this year in Global
competitive rankings released by Switzerland-based IMD World
Competitiveness Center.
a. Top 5
in the list :
o
United States
o
Hong Kong
o Singapore
o
Netherlands
o
Switzerland
2. The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Nepal for
having eliminated trachoma, a contagious bacterial
infection of the eye.
a. It makes Nepal first country in WHO’s South-East
Asia Region to defeat trachoma, world’s leading infectious cause of
blindness.
3.
The United States has "disinvited"
China from the 'world's largest international maritime exercise' Rim
of the Pacific (RIMPAC) over China's continued militarisation of
the disputed South China Sea, according to the Pentagon.
a.
Note : The RIMPAC Exercise is
held every two years in Hawaii and involves more than 20 countries from across
the world, including India.
4.
Palestine has
become the 193rd nation to join the Chemical
Weapons Convention.
a. The
Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an arms control treaty that outlaws the
production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and their precursors.
b. It is
administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW), an intergovernmental organization based in The Hague, The
Netherlands.
c. Note : India
joined this convention on 29th April 1997.
5.
Pakistan hosted
its 1st ever Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-Regional
Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) legal experts meeting in
Islamabad.
a. The
three day meeting saw participation of legal advisors from eight SCO member
states including China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Russia, Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan and Pakistan as well as representatives of the SCO-RATS executive
committee.
6.
Uttar Pradesh government
is planning to change the name of Allahabad to 'Prayagraj'
before Kumbh Mela in the city next year.
a. The new
name derives from a place in the city called Prayag, where three rivers flowing
across the state meet.
7.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board
(TNPCB) has ordered the closure of the Sterlite Copper
plant in Tuticorin amid ongoing protests by
locals.
8.
The union Cabinet has approved implementation
of Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) Project for
North Eastern Region (NER) in Meghalaya to improve mobile
services.
a. The
project has provision of 2G and 4G mobile coverage in identified uncovered areas
of Meghalaya and seamless mobile coverage along National Highways in
state.
b. It will
be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
9.
Late actress Sridevi was
posthumously conferred with the BRICS Business Forum Leadership Award for
Lifetime Achievement in Indian Cinema.
10.
The Cabinet has approved promulgation of an
ordinance to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
a. The
code proposes to classify home buyers as financial creditors at par with
lenders to help them quickly get refunds from defaulting companies.
11.
Venezuela's envoy to
India Augusto Montiel has
announced that the South American country is willing to accept oil
payments from India in rupees.
a. Venezuela
will use that money to buy medicines and food from India.
12.
Governments of India, Netherlands and Sweden launched
first-of-its-kind collaborative research programme on HIV/AIDS.
a. It is
aimed at harnessing complementary research strengths and diverse expertise
across three nations to catalyze development of better tools to understand and
address burgeoning global epidemic of HIV.
13.
North Korea today
completed dismantling its Punggye-ri nuclear test site in
a ceremony attended by journalists.
a. North
Korea had conducted all of its six nuclear tests at the site, as a result of
which it had partially collapsed and was reportedly rendered unusable.
b. The
move comes in line with North Korea's pledge to denuclearise the Korean
Peninsula.
14.
The researchers of IIT-Kanpur have
signed a ₹15-crore MoU
with VTOL Aviation India to develop Vertical
Take Off and Landing (VTOL) craft prototypes, potentially to be used
as flying taxis.
15.
NITI Aayog and ABB
India have signed a Statement of Intent to support the Indian
government realize its ambitious vision of ‘Make in India’
through advanced manufacturing technologies that incorporate the latest
developments in robotics and artificial intelligence.
16.
The government has appointed non-executive
chairpersons for three state-run banks based on the suggestions of Banks Board
Bureau. They are :
a. Charan
Singh - Punjab & Sind Bank
b. Anjali
Bansal - Dena Bank
c. Tapan
Ray - Central Bank of India
17.
Arsenal Football Club has
appointed former Spanish football player Unai Emery as
its new manager.
a. He has
replaced Arsène Wenger who recently stepped down after 22
years with the club.
18.
Former Supreme Court judge CK
Prasad has been appointed the Chairperson of the Press
Council of India (PCI) for a second term.
a. He was
appointed to the post in November 2014 after Justice Markanday Katju stepped
down.
19.
South African
cricketer AB de Villiers announced
his retirement from all forms of international cricket with
immediate effect.
a. He is
currently holding the number two spot in the ICC ODI rankings for
batsmen.
b. He won
the ICC ODI Player of the Year for a record three times.
c. He
holds the records for scoring the fastest fifty, hundred and 150 in
ODIs.
20.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano
Ronaldo has been named as the World's Most Famous Athlete for
the third straight year in ESPN's annual rankings.
a. NBA
star LeBron James stood at 2nd spot followed by Lionel
Messi.
b. Indian
cricket captain Virat Kohli rose to 11th spot from 13th
last year.
21.
The Union Cabinet has approved an ordinance to
set up India’s first national sports university in in Imphal
(west), Manipur.
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