27 April 2018 - Daily Current Affairs

27 April 2018 - Daily Current Affairs

PM Modi arrives in China for the informal summit with Xi Jinping

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Wuhan in China for a two-day informal summit with President Xi Jinping at Hubei Provincial Museum.
• The two leaders will review the developments in our bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective.
• Both leaders are expected to define a pathway that could transform the ties into a major force for tackling global problems.
• A boat ride by the two principals or a walk among the pines is expected during the event.

Inter-Korean Summit begins in the truce village of Panmunjom

• North Korea's Kim Jong-un has become the first leader to set foot in South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
• South Korean leader Moon Jae-in and Mr. Kim shook hands at the border.
• According to Mr. Kim, it was the "starting point" for peace, after crossing the military line that divides the peninsula. 

Note:

• The 2018 inter-Korean summit took place on the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area, between President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Kim Jong-un of North Korea.
• The summit is planned to focus on the North Korean nuclear weapons program and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

India-Nepal IGC Meet begins in Kathmandu

• The two-day India-Nepal Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting on trade, transit, and cooperation to Control Unauthorised Trade has begun in Kathmandu, Nepal.
• The Indian side is led by Rita Teaotia (Commerce Secretary).
• The IGC meeting provides a regular platform to review the implementation of past trade and transit agreements besides discussing new measures to facilitate bilateral trade and investment.
• IGC also deliberate upon day-to-day problems in regulation of Nepalese traffic-in-transit and issues related to Indian investment in Nepal and resolves them.

Mike Pompeo sworn in as US Secretary of State after Senate Confirmation

• Former CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) director Mike Pompeo has been sworn in as America's 70th Secretary of State, after the US Senate confirmed his nomination.
• Supreme Court Justice ‘Samuel Alito’ swore in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the West Conference Room of the Supreme Court.
• Mr. Pompeo was confirmed by the Senate by 57-42 votes.
• He replaced Rex Tillerson (fired by President Trump last month).

Note:

• The Secretary of State is a senior official of the federal government of the United States of America, and as head of the U.S. Department of State and considered to be the U.S. government's equivalent of a Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Honors & Awards

CSIR bags National Intellectual Property award 2018

• The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been awarded the 2018 National Intellectual Property (IP) Award in the “Top R&D Institution / Organization for Patents and Commercialization” category.
• Dr. Girish Sahni (Director general of CSIR) has received the award at a function organized by the Indian Intellectual Property Office and Confederation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (CII) in New Delhi.

Note:

• The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is an autonomous body (through the Societies Registration Act, 1860) that has emerged as the largest research and development organization in India.
• It runs thirty-eight laboratories and thirty-nine field stations or extension centers throughout the nation, with a collective staff of over 12,000 scientists and scientific and technical personnel.

National Appointments

Indu Malhotra takes oath as Supreme Court Judge

• Senior advocate Indu Malhotra (61-year) administered the oath of office as a Supreme Court judge by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra in a ceremony held at court number 1 of the apex court.
• She is the first woman judge to be appointed to the top post directly from the bar.
• Now, the strength of the Supreme Court is 25 (sanctioned strength 31, including the CJI).
• Since Independence, only six women judges (Justice Fathima Beevi, Justice Sujatha Manohar, Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra and Justice Ranjana Desai) have been appointed to the Supreme Court.
• In 1989, Justice Fathima Beevi was appointed as the first woman judge of the Supreme Court.

Note:

• Indu Malhotra did her B.A. (Hons.) Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College (University of Delhi) and masters in political science from Lady Shri Ram College (University of Delhi).
• She did her Bachelor of Laws from the Faculty of Law, Delhi University during the period 1979 to 1982.

Sports

ICC to grant T20 International status to all its existing 104 members

• The International cricket council (ICC) at its quarterly meeting decided to grant T20 International status to all its existing 104 members in a bid to popularize the game across the globe.
• Now, minimum standards will be introduced making it as easy as possible for members to play international cricket in a sustainable and affordable way.
• All member women's teams will be awarded T20 International status on 1^st July 2018, while all member men's teams will be awarded T20 International status on 1^st January 2019.
• Rankings for women will be introduced in October 2018 and for men in May 2019.

Note:

• The ICC has 104 members (12 Full Members that play Test matches and 92 Associate Members) responsible for the organization and governance of cricket's major international tournaments like Cricket World Cup.
• It also appoints the umpires and referees that officiate at all sanctioned Test matches, One Day International (ODI)and Twenty20 Internationals.

Railways announce monetary rewards to its medal-winning athletes in Gold Coast CWG

• The Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has announced monetary rewards to 15 medals (10 golds, one silver, and 4 bronze) winning athletes in 66 medal tallies at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
• 25 lakh rupees (for Gold), 20 lakh rupees (for Silver), and 15 lakh rupees (for bronze) will be given to the Railway athletes.
• According to Mr. Goyal, within a month the railways will draft a new and much-better promotion policy for its sportspersons.

AITA nominates Yuki, Bopanna for Arjuna award

• The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has nominated country's top singles player Yuki Bhambri and doubles expert Rohan Bopanna for the Arjuna award.
• Recently, Yuki Bhambri reclaimed his place in top-100 (career-best rank - 83) after a string of impressive performances.
• Rohan Bopanna had won the French Open mixed doubles title last year with Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski, was nominated last year after the deadline had passed.

Note: The Arjuna Awards are given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in sports.

Eligible for the Arjuna Award:

• A sportsperson should have superior performance consistently for the previous four years at the international level with excellence for the year for which the Award is recommended.
• A player should have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.