VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MAY 25^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MAY 25^th, 2019

1.      (25th May) is International Missing Children's Day.

a.      Emblem of International Missing Children's Day : forget-me-not flower

2.     Today is Towel Day.

a.      This day is celebrated every year on 25 May as a tribute to the author Douglas Adams by his fans.

b.     On this day, fans openly carry a towel with them, as described in Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or share their folded animal towels to demonstrate their appreciation for the books and the author.

3.     US president Donald Trump embarked on a 4-day visit to Japan amid trade war with China and renewed challenges from North Korea. 

a.      During his meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump will likely to discuss trade and military during his visit.

b.     Note : US President will be first state guest of Japan after the enthronement of its new emperor Naruhito early this month.

4.     The Indian delegation is participating in the 2nd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Mass Media Forum at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.

a.      A delegation from Information and Broadcasting Ministry are representing India at the Forum. 

b.     The 4-day Forum was inaugurated by President of Kyrgyz Republic, S. Jeenbekoyesterday.

c.      Aim of this Forum : To strengthen the exchange and cooperation in the field of mass media amongst SCO countries.

5.     Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the 1st leader since Indira Gandhi to return to power with a single-party majority in Lok Sabha. 

a.      His Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured 303 out of the 542 Lok Sabha seats that were contested. 

b.     Note : In 1971, Indira Gandhi led the Congress to victory with a full majority after having done the same in 1967.

6.     A total of 65,14,558 voters opted for NOTA (None-Of-The-Above) option, in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. 

a.      In 2014, as many as 60,02,942 voters had opted for NOTA. 

b.     The highest percentage of NOTA was recorded in the state of Bihar with 2% voters (8,17,139) opting for it. 

c.      In Uttar Pradesh, which has 80 Lok Sabha seats, 7,25,079 voters opted for NOTA.

7.     Union government has banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and its manifestations with immediate effect.

a.      In its notifications, Home Ministry said,  the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and its formations like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan and their manifestations have committed acts and promoted acts of terrorism and have been engaged in radicalisation and recruitment of youth for terrorist activities in India.

8.     The Task force set up to draft a new direct tax law to replace the existing Income Tax Act has been given 2-month extension till July 31 to submit its report.

a.      The task force was scheduled to submit the report by May 31, but Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has extended the last date for submission of report by direct tax panel till July 31.

b.     The task force was assigned to draft direct tax laws in line with the norms prevalent in other countries, incorporating international best practices, and keeping in mind the economic needs of the country.

c.      The Finance Ministry in November last year appointed Akhilesh Ranjan, Member (Legislation), CBDT, as convenor of the task force after the retirement of Arbind Modi. 

d.     Other members of the task force are :

i)      Girish Ahuja (chartered accountant)

ii)    Rajiv Memani (Chairman and Regional Managing Partner of EY)

iii) Mukesh Patel (Practicing Tax Advocate)

iv) Mansi Kedia (Consultant, ICRIER) 

v)    G C Srivastava (retired IRS and Advocate).

9.     Indian Air Force (IAF) formidable workhorse, the Russian made AN-32 aircraft was today formally fleet certified to fly on blended aviation fuel containing up to ten per cent of indigenous bio-jet fuel. 

a.      The approval certificate was received at the aero-engine test facilities at Chandigarh by Air Commodore Sanjiv Ghuratia.

10.                       UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Lt Gen Shailesh Tinaikar, a decorated Indian Army officer as the new Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

a.      He is going to replace Lieutenant General Frank Kamanzi of Rwanda who completes his assignment tomorrow.

11.                       Sportspersons in the 17th Lok Sabha elections

a.      Cricketer Gautam Gambhir (BJP) has won East Delhi Lok Sabha seat.

b.     Olympian Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (BJP) won Jaipur Rural seat for the second straight time by defeating CWG gold medallist, Congress' Krishna Poonia.

c.      Olympic medallist boxer Vijender Singh (Congress) lost the South Delhi seat after getting only 13.6% of the votes.

12. India bags a total of 57 Medals (12 Gold, 18 Silver and 27 Bronze) at India Open International Boxing tournament in Guwahati.

a.      6-time world champion M C Mary Kom, Shiva Thapa, L Sarita Devi and Naman Tanwar won gold in their respective finals. 

b.     This was Mary's second gold in the tournament, having won in 48 kg last year in the capital.