Daily Current affairs - May 4th, 2018 for all competitive exams
International Firefighters’ Day was
observed all over the world on 4th May.
- International Firefighters’ Day (IFFD) is observed
to honour the sacrifices made by firefighters to safeguard their
communities and environment. It is observed every year on 4th May.
- One of the most important symbols of International
Fire Fighters Day is the red and blue ribbon.
It was instituted after proposal
emailed out across the world on January 4, 1999 due to the deaths of five
firefighters in tragic circumstances in a bushfire in Australia. The
IFFD ribbons are made of colours that represent main elements that
firefighters work with – red for fire and blue for water.
On the first Sunday of May
at noon local time every year, fire sirens sound for 30 seconds
followed by a minute’s silence in memory of all firefighters who have
sacrificed their life during duty. This is called the “Sound Off“.
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Govt recommends green
registration plates for electric vehicles
The Union road transport and highways
ministry have recommended green registration plates for electric vehicles (EVs)
so as to identify them for preferential treatment.
- The ministry will soon issue a notification
specifying the colour of the plates to be used by these vehicles, two
senior government officials said on condition of anonymity.
- Federal think tank Niti Aayog, which is framing the
draft policy for EVs, had recommended green registration plates for such
vehicles.
Environment ministry bans
party poppers
Union Environment Ministry has banned
party poppers, stating that the devices pose a serious threat to human health
and environment.
- Poppers, which are commonly used in parties and
other celebrations are objects that explode when a string attached to it
is pulled.
Poppers are that are charged with an
explosive contain plastic glittering material and the other charged chemicals
mainly composed of red-phosphorous, potassium chlorate and potassium
perchlorate.
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EPFO announced new service in the Umang App
EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation) has announced the
introduction of a new service for pensioners through the Umang App.
- Under the new facility, a pensioner can view his
pension passbook on the app.
Umang is an initiative to promote Digital India program. The term — Umang
stands for Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance and is envisaged
to make e-governance. The application is developed by the Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and National e-Governance
Division (NeGD) in order to drive Mobile Governance in India.
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NWIC setup as a single window source of
updated data on water resources
National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) has been
recently set up by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation at New Delhi, after approval of the Cabinet.
- NWIC will be a repository of nation-wide water
resources data and will function as a Subordinate Office under the
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
- It will be headed by a Joint Secretary level
officer. A “Water Resources Information System” (WRIS) will be developed
and updated in public domain for effective integrated water resources
management.
NWIC would offer a ‘Single Window’
source of updated data on water resources and related themes. Also, it would
offer value added products and services to stake holders for its management
and sustainable development.
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Pakyong airport in Sikkim to become the
100th functional airport in India
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha stated that Pakyong airport in Sikkim, which is scheduled to be commissioned in June 2018, will be the 100th operational airport in the country.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha stated that Pakyong airport in Sikkim, which is scheduled to be commissioned in June 2018, will be the 100th operational airport in the country.
- Currently, Sikkim is the only state in India
that does not have an airport.
- Post commissioning, low-cost
airline SpiceJet will be operating flights to Pakyong in Sikkim
from Kolkata under Civil Aviation Ministry’s regional connectivity scheme,
UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik).
Civil Aviation Ministry launched
Regional Connectivity Scheme ‘UDAN’ in October 2016. It is aimed towards
making flying a reality for common people residing in Tier-II
and Tier-III towns and thereby developing the regional aviation market.
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Dhadkan mobile app was
launched to monitor health of heart patients
Students at IIT Roorkee have developed a
mobile application — ‘Dhadkan(version 2)’ — for monitoring the health of people
suffering from heart ailments and provide them with medical assistance in case
of emergency.
- The app, developed by Computational Biology group at
IIT-Roorkee, can automatically send notification to both the doctor and
the patient, in case of any drastic changes in patient’s health data
indicating the possibility of an imminent heart attack.
China removes import
duties on 28 medicines; India to get the boost
China said it has removed import duties
on as many as 28 medicines, including all cancer drugs, from May 1.
- It has exempted import tariffs (duties) for 28
drugs, including all cancer drugs, from May 1st.
- Good news for India’s pharmaceutical industry and
medicine export to China.
New snake found in Western
Ghats
Bhupathy’s
shieldtail is a new species of shieldtail snake found recently from the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu.
- The snake, currently observed only in the forests of
the Anaikatty hills in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district, has been
named Uropeltis bhupathyi , after the late herpetologist S.
Bhupathy, for his contributions to the field.
- Researchers had seen this snake earlier during
surveys, but it was wrongly identified as another more commonly-seen
shieldtail, says researcher Jins V.J., who discovered the snake.
The reptile belongs to a family of
snakes found only in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. They are non-venomous,
burrowing and mostly earthworm-eating, and are called shieldtails after the
large, flat tips of their tails, which make them appear almost sliced off.
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FDI confidence index 2018 released
FDI confidence index for the year 2018 has been released.
- India is ranked 11th. India was down three notches in the overall
ranking from last year.
- India remains the second highest ranked emerging
market on the Index. Overall, India remains among the top investment
destinations due to its market size and rapid economic growth.
- US topped the list, followed by Canada, while
Germany dropped to the third place. United States tops the Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) Confidence Index for the sixth year in a row.
The Foreign Direct Investment Confidence (FDI) Index prepared by A.T.
Kearney is an annual survey which tracks the impact of likely political, economic,
and regulatory changes on the foreign direct investment intentions and
preferences of CEOs, CFOs, and other top executives of Global 1000
companies. The report includes detailed commentary on the markets
and the impact a variety of global trade issues have on their FDI
attractiveness, as well as a ranking of the top 25 countries.
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4th regional conference on ‘Futuristic,
Resilient and Digital Infrastructure’ concludes
4th regional conference
on Futuristic, Resilient and Digital Infrastructure concluded in Bengaluru on
May 4, 2018.
- The conference was organized by
Union Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII) and Research and Information System for
Developing Countries (RIS).
- This two-day conference was attended by experts
from various fields, representatives of civil society organizations and
academia.
This conference was a lead-up event to the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), scheduled to be held on 25th and 26th
June 2018 in Mumbai. 3rd Annual
Meeting of AIIB will be hosted by the Government of India.
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NSA heads first meet of
defence planning panel
The Defence Planning Committee (DPC), a
new permanent mechanism created last month by the government, held its first
meeting
- National Security Advisor Ajit Doval chaired the
meeting, which was attended by the three military chiefs, and defence,
foreign and expenditure secretaries.
According to the notification issued
last week, the DPC, headed by the NSA, will prepare a draft national security
strategy, develop a capability development plan, work on defence diplomacy
issues and improving defence manufacturing in India. The Chief of Integrated
Staff in the MoD will be the member secretary of DPC, and his headquarters
will be the secretariat for the committee. The DPC will submit its reports to
the Defence Minister.
Four sub-committees will be created
under the DPC: one to look at policy and strategy, the second to work on
plans and capability development; the third on defence diplomacy and the
fourth on defence manufacturing ecosystem.
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51st annual meeting of Asian
Development Bank held in Philippines
51st Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB) is being held in
Manila, Philippines.
- The Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors is
an opportunity to provide guidance on ADB administrative, financial, and
operational directions.
ADB is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 and
is headquartered in Philippines. It aims to facilitate economic development
of countries in Asia. It also aims for an Asia and Pacific free from poverty.
The bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly known as the United
Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East) and non-regional
developed countries. Currently, it has 67 members – of
which 48 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
ADB raises funds through bond issues on the world’s capital markets. Japan holds the largest proportions of
shares at 15.67%. The United States holds 15.56%, China holds 6.47%, India
holds 6.36%, and Australia holds 5.81%.
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Cultural festival in Egypt
to commemorate 157th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore
India is organising a five-day cultural
festival in Egypt to commemorate the 157th birth anniversary of Nobel
laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
- An exhibition on the paintings of Tagore
titled ‘Rabindranath Tagore: Rhythm in Colours’ will be held in
Giza.
- The festival is being organised by the Maulana
Azad Centre for Indian Culture, the cultural wing of the Indian
Embassy in Cairo.
Ashok Lahiri appointed
full-time member of 15th Finance Commission
Former chief economic adviser Ashok
Lahiri has been appointed as full-time member of the 15th Finance Commission,
according to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry.
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has
approved Lahiri’s appointment as the full-time member, the order said.
Fifteenth Finance Commission of India
is a finance commission constituted in November 2017. The commission's
chairman is N. K. Singh, with its full-time members being Shaktikanta Das and
Anoop Singh. In addition, the commission also has two part-time members in
Ramesh Chand and Ashok Lahiri.
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Jnanpith laureate M T
Vasudevan Nair bags ONV Literary Prize
Jnanpith laureate M T Vasudevan Nair has
won this year's annual ONV Literary Prize, instituted in memory of iconic poet
late O N V Kurup, for his overall contributions to Malayalam literature.
- The award, comprising a cash prize of Rs three lakh,
citation and a plaque, was instituted by the ONV Cultural Academy
O. N. V., was a renowned Malayalam poet and lyricist
from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in
India for the year 2007. He received the awards Padma Shri in 1998 and Padma
Vibhushan in 2011, the fourth and second highest civilian honours from the
Government of India.
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Nobel literature prize will not be awarded
this year
Swedish Academy said that, the Nobel Prize in literature
will not be awarded this year due to sex-abuse allegations and other issues.
- Swedish Academy said that, the Nobel Literature
Prize 2018 will be given in 2019. The Nobel Literature Prize is
postponed for the first time in 70 years.
- Swedish Academy has previously reserved the prize on
seven occasions in: 1915, 1919, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1936 and 1949.
The Swedish Academy has been in stress
due to the #MeToo campaign since November 2017. The Academy has been
alleged of sexual misconduct by the husband of one of its members.
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Hockey India recommends
Manpreet
Midfielder Manpreet Singh, who led
India’s men’s hockey team at last month’s Commonwealth Games, was among the
three players recommended for this year’s Arjuna Award by Hockey India
- Another experienced midfielder Dharamvir Singh, and
Indian women’s team goalkeeper Savita have also been recommended for the
Arjuna.
- Sanggai Ibemhal Chanu and former men’s captain
Bharat Chetri have been recommended for the Dhyan Chand Award and B.S.
Chauhan for the Dronacharya Award.
Virat Kohli to play for
Surrey in English County
India captain Virat
Kohli officially inked his deal with top English
Countryside Surrey starting in July.
- While Kohli joining the London-based team was an
open secret, the county officially announced the deal on their official
website.
- With Kohli playing three county championship matches
in June, he is all set to miss the historic first-ever Test match against
Afghanistan scheduled in Bengaluru from June 14-18.
Mohamed Salah named
writers' Footballer of the year
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has
been named the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.
- Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne came
second with Tottenham striker Harry Kane third.
- The Egypt star - the first African winner of the
award - also won the Professional Footballers' Association player of the
year award.
Wimbledon champions' prize
money hiked by £50,000
According to the Wimbledon
officials, the 2018 men's and women's singles champions will receive £2.25
million, an increase of £50,000 on last year.
- Lower-ranked players at Wimbledon will enjoy a
greater uplift, with an increase of 10% across qualifying and
the first to fourth rounds of the singles, boosting the overhaul prize
money total to £34 million this year.
- The Championships, Wimbledon is an annual British
tennis tournament created in 1877 and is played in London, UK.
- Roger Federer and Garbine Muguruza won the men's and
women's titles in 2017.
