Daily Current affairs - May 1st, 2018 for all competitive exams
International Labour Day is also
known as International Worker's Day, Labour Day and May Day. It is
celebrated across the world on 1st May to promote and encourage the
international labour associations.
- The theme of International Labour Day 2018
is “Uniting Workers for Social and Economic Advancement”.
1st May was chosen to
be International Workers' Day to commemorate the 1886 Haymarket affair in
Chicago. On this day in 1886, labour unions went on a strike
in the USA and demanded that workers should not be forced to work more than
eight hours a day.
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In India, Labour Day is a public
holiday held on every 1 May. It is celebrated as Antarrashtriya Shramik
Diwas. The holiday is tied to labour movements for communist and socialist
political parties. The first May Day celebration in India was organized in
Madras (now Chennai) by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on 1 May 1923.
This was also the first time the red flag was used in India
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Swachh Bharat mission
launches GOBAR-DHAN scheme
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has launched the ‘Gobar Dhan’
scheme for Nation. The government is also planning to create an online platform
for trading cow dung and agricultural waste under the scheme.
- The scheme aims to positively impact village
cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste.
- The Scheme will encourage the farmers to consider
dung and other waste not just as a waste but as a source of income. It
will provide many benefits to the rural people. It will be easier to keep
the village clean and sanitized, livestock health will improve and farm
yields will increase.
- Biogas generation will increase self-reliance in
energy utilized for cooking and lighting.
The Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBAR-DHAN) scheme was
first announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during his budget speech on
February 1. The scheme would focus on managing and converting cattle dung and
solid waste in farms to compost, biogas and bio-CNG. It will help in keeping
the village clean while increasing the income of farmers and cattle herders.
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Government launches Pilot
scheme procurement of aggregate power of 2500mw
Central Government has started a Pilot
Scheme for Procurement of Aggregate Power of 2500 MW on competitive basis for 3
years from generators with commissioned projects but without Power Purchase
Agreement.
- The allotment will be done through a bidding process
and tariff will be fixed for three years, without any escalation.
- PFC Consulting Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of
PFC Ltd is the Nodal Agency and PTC India Limited is the Aggregator for
this scheme.
Surat railway station to
be 3rd in country to have ‘airport like’ facilities
Surat railway station (in Gujarat) will
be the third in India to be developed as a world-class facility under Railway
Ministry’s station redevelopment programme.
- Several “airport-like” amenities will be installed
at Surat Railway Station under Union Railway Ministry’s ‘Rs 1 lakh crore
station redevelopment’ programme.
- Estimated cost for redevelopment of Surat Railway
Station is Rs 5000 crore. It is expected to be ready by 2020.
India’s two world-class Railway
stations — Habibganj (in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh) and Gandhinagar (in Gujarat)
— will be ready by the beginning of 2019.
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Gujarat to offer PNG subsidy
Gujarat is planning to launch the new PNG/LPG (liquefied petroleum gas)
Sahay Yojana—an extension to the Ujjwala Yojana.
- The scheme for select urban areas will supplement
Ujjwala for BPL-AAY households not covered under Ujjwala to help supply
households with clean fuel.
- As per the scheme, the government will pay Rs1,600
as one-time subsidy per connection and Rs1,725 as loan to customers opting
for a new PNG connection. As a result, a beneficiary will have to pay only
Rs118 to get a new connection and a refundable security deposit of Rs50
per month for a period of 100 months.
- The pipeline infrastructure and maintenance charges
will be borne by city gas distribution companies.
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana aims to provide LPG (liquefied petroleum
gas) connections to poor households.
Under the scheme, an adult woman member of a below poverty line family
identified through the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) is given a
deposit-free LPG connection with financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per
connection by the Centre. Eligible households will be identified in
consultation with state governments and Union territories. The scheme is
being implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
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NASA set to launch GRACE-FO mission
NASA is set to launch a pair of new spacecraft that will observe our
planet’s ever-changing water cycle, ice sheets and crust.
- The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment
Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission, a partnership between NASA and the German
Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), will take over where the first
GRACE mission left off when it completed its 15-year mission in 2017.
- The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment
Follow-on (GRACE-FO) mission is a partnership between NASA and the
German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
GRACE-FO is a successor to the original GRACE mission, which began
orbiting Earth on March 17, 2002. The GRACE missions measure variations in
gravity over Earth’s surface, producing a new map of the gravity field every
30 days.
GRACE-FO will carry on the extremely successful work of its predecessor
while testing a new technology designed to dramatically improve the already
remarkable precision of its measurement system.
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ACI projects India as 2nd
fastest growing country for air passenger traffic
India has been projected to be
the second fastest growing country in the world for air passenger
traffic.
- As per the Airports Council International
(ACI), by 2022 passenger traffic in emerging economies like India
will surpass advanced economies.
- The ACI, a global trade body representing airports
across the globe, has put Vietnam at the top position with an 8.5%
growth rate, followed by India at 7.5% and Iran at
7.3%.
India joint 6th in list of
doping violations in WADA report
India is ranked joint-sixth in the list
of doping violations with 69 cases, same as that of Russia, according
to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report for samples collected in
2016.
- India improved its position to sixth after being
joint-third for three consecutive years from 2013 to 2015.
- Italy topped the rankings of drug cases in
2016, followed by France (86), United States (76), Australia (75),
Belgium (73).
Second World Hindu
Congress (WHC) is scheduled to be held in Chicago in September
Second edition of World Hindu Congress
(WHC)/World Hindu Congress 2018 will be held in Chicago, US from 7th – 9th
September, 2018.
- The theme of World Hindu Congress 2018 is
“Sumantrite Suvikrante” – “think collectively, achieve valiantly”.
- It is being organised by World Hindu Foundation to
commemorate 125 years of Swami Vivekananda historic Chicago address on
September 11, 1893.
9th India-Japan energy
dialogue held in New Delhi
The 9th India Japan Energy
Dialogue was held in New Delhi. Minister of State(IC) for Power and
New & Renewable Energy, R.K Singh, and Minister of Economy, Trade
and Industry (METI) Hiroshige Seko signed a Joint Statement at the
conclusion of the meeting.
- Both the countries agreed to work together for
energy security, energy access and climate change issues. They also agreed
to initiate the discussion on Electric Vehicles (EVs) and commit
to work together in promoting well-functioning energy markets.
15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in
Varanasi
15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in the holy city
of Varanasi in January. It will be organised by the Ministry of External
Affairs in association with the Uttar Pradesh government.
- Theme: “Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New
India”.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated every year on January 9 to
mark the contribution of overseas Indian community in the development of
India. January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it
was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi, returned
to India from South Africa, led India’s freedom struggle and changed the
lives of Indians forever.
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WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum
quits Facebook
WhatsApp Co-founder and CEO Jan
Koum has announced his resignation from the parent company
Facebook.
- This comes shortly after a report claimed Koum would
leave due to disagreements over data privacy and weakening encryption.
- Koum will also step down from Facebook's Board of
Directors, a position he took up when WhatsApp was bought for $19
billion by Facebook in 2014.
British Home Secretary
Rudd steps down
Britain’s tough approach to immigration
was thrown into uncertainty as the Minister in charge of the Home Office, Amber
Rudd, stepped down, following several weeks of intense scrutiny of her policies
both towards illegal immigration and Commonwealth nations.
- This is the fifth governmental resignation since
last May’s general election, adding to the tumult at the heart of
government with less than a year to Brexit and weeks before talks on
Britain’s involvement in the EU customs union are set to take place. She
was replaced by Sajid Javid, a Cabinet member who will be the first South
Asian to head the Home Office.
Former chief of IAF Idris
Latif dies at 95
Former Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal
Idris Hasan Latif (PVSM) passed away in Hyderabad. He was 95.
- Air Marshal Latif chose India and went on to become
its first Muslim Chief of Air Staff. Later, he played a key role in
planning the Indian air thrust in the Eastern Sector during the 1971 war
with Pakistan.
- After his retirement, he served as Governor of
Maharashtra and later as an Ambassador to France before returning to
Hyderabad.
Sri Lankan filmmaker
Lester James Peiris dead
Renowned Sri Lankan film maker and a
national icon Lester James Peiris, credited with revolutionalising Sinhala
cinema in the 1950s with a strong local flavour and indigenous style, passed
away in Colombo April 29. He was 99.
- A contemporary of Satyajit Ray, Peiris is regarded
the “father of Sinhala cinema”. Mr.
Peries’s Wekanda Walauwa (Mansion by the Lake) in 2002, an adaptation of
Anton Chekhov’s play The Cherry Orchard, was Sri Lanka’s first submission
for the Academy Awards.
Hockey India appoints
Harendra Singh as chief coach of Men's team
Hockey India has
appointed Harendra Singh as coach of India's men's
team, while Sjoerd Marijne will take over as chief coach of women's
side.
- The decision to change coaches comes on the backdrop
of men’s hockey team having a disappointing run at the
recently-concluded Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
India’s CA Bhavani Devi
wins silver at satellite fencing championship
India's CA Bhavani Devi won a silver
medal in the sabre event of the Tournoi World Cup Satellite Fencing
Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- The Tamil Nadu fencer went down to USA's Alexis
Browne in the final. Bhavani Devi had won a gold medal at the Reykjavik
tournament in 2017 to become the first Indian to do so in an international
fencing event.
Shooter Shahzar Rizvi
becomes World No.1 in 10m air pistol
Indian
shooter Shahzar Rizvi became the world number one shooter
in the 10-metre air pistol category after having won a silver medal at the
recently concluded shooting World Cup in South Korea. Russia’s Artem
Chernousov is on top spot and Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsuda on second.
- The other Indian shooter in the world top-10
rankings is Jitu Rai, who is placed sixth. Among the
women, Manu Bhaker was the only Indian in the
top-10 of the women’s 10m air pistol rankings at the fourth spot.
