IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MAY 20, 2017

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MAY 20, 2017

India betters ranking in international tourist arrivals

i. India has jumped 16 places in the revised United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) rankings to settle at 24th for 2014 and 2015. Earlier, India was ranked 41st and 40th in 2014 and 2015 as per the global ranking, respectively.

ii. UNWTO is the United Nation’s agency managing promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism and its barometer ranks countries in terms of their ITAs- comprising both foreign tourist arrivals as well as non-resident arrivals.

Hyderabad’s Turbo Megha Airways first private airline to get UDAN licence              
i. Turbo Megha Airways has become the first private airline to get a licence to fly under UDAN, the government scheme for subsidized regional flights.

ii. The Hyderabad-based airline which flies as TruJet stated that it will launch flights on Hyderabad-Cuddapah, Hyderabad-Nanded and Nanded-Mumbai routes.

iii. The five airlines awarded the rights to fly UDAN flights so far are Air India, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha, Air Odisha and G.R. Gopinath led Deccan Air.

Visakhapatnam railway station cleanest, Darbhanga dirtiest says survey

i. The Visakhapatnam railway station is the cleanest, followed by Secunderabad, among the 75 busiest stations in the country. According to a survey,

the report of which was released by railway minister Suresh Prabhu, the Jammu railway station occupied the third spot, while the New Delhi station was ranked at 39 among the busiest stations.

ii. The survey was carried out by the Quality Council of India. The Darbhanga railway station in Bihar was the dirtiest among the busiest stations.

iii. The railway station in Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was ranked at 14th position.

BSNL signs pacts with Facebook, MobiKwik

i. State-owned telecom operator BSNL has inked a clutch of agreements with Facebook and MobiKwik as its looks to popularize the internet and its value added services among customers.

ii. The pacts were signed to commemorate the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (17 May).

iii. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Facebook, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will provide connectivity for the social network’s 'Express Wi-Fi Program’.

iv. The third MoU of BSNL with Disney India will provide premium online gaming services to mobile customers of the telecom operator.

ISRO receives 2014 Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

i. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented now the 2014 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

ii. The award was announced by a jury headed by Vice President Hamid Ansari in 2014, consists of a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 1 crore.

iii. The Prize was awarded to ISRO in recognition of its path-breaking achievements culminating in the Mars orbiter mission and its significant contributions in strengthening international cooperation in peaceful use of outer space.

Bilateral Exercise Between Indian & Republic Of Singapore Navy SIMBEX-17 Commences

i. As part of 'SIMBEX-17', the ongoing Bilateral Naval Exercise between Navies of the Republic of Singapore and India, Indian Naval Ships Shivalik, Sahyadri, Jyoti and Kamorta are participating.

ii. SIMBEX is an acronym for "Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercises". Bilateral cooperation between Singapore and India was first formalized when RSN ships began training with the Indian Navy in 1994.

iii. This years edition of SIMBEX-17 being held in the South China Sea would be the 24th in the series.

Japan cabinet approves bill allowing emperor’s abdication

i. Japan's cabinet approved a bill that would allow Emperor Akihito to step down, paving the way for the first abdication by a Japanese emperor in nearly two centuries.

ii. Abdication must take place within three years of the bill becoming law.

iii. In August 2016, he publicly cited age and declining health, which was interpreted as his wish to hand the crown to his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito.