18 May 2018 - Daily Current Affairs

18 May 2018 - Daily Current Affairs

Uttam Pacharne appointed as Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi

• Eminent artist and sculptor ‘Uttam Pacharne’ has been appointed as the regular Chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi for three years.
• Pacharne succeeds ML Srivastava, Joint Secretary (Akademies).

Note:

• The Lalit Kala Akademi is India's national academy of fine arts established in New Delhi in 1954 by Government of India to promote and propagate an understanding of Indian art, in and outside the country
• LKA provides scholarships, fellow program, and sponsors and organizes exhibitions in India and overseas.

Ramalingam Sudhakar sworn-in as chief justice of Manipur high court

• Today, Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar (Acting Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court) was sworn-in as new Chief Justice of Manipur High Court.
• He was administered the oath of office by Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi at the Raj Bhawan in Imphal.

National Affairs

Suresh Prabhu launches Intellectual Property mascot ‘IP Nani’

• The Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Suresh Prabhu has launched the Intellectual Property (IP) mascot ‘IP Nani’ at the conference on National Intellectual Property Rights Policy in New Delhi.
• Mascot IP Nani is a tech-savvy grandmother who helps the government and enforcement agencies in combating IP crimes with the help of her grandson “Chhotu” aka Aditya.
• The IP mascot will spread awareness about the importance of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) among people, especially children, in an interesting manner.

Himachal govt sanctions Rs. 25 crores for renovating Bantony Castle

• The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister 'Jai Ram Thakur' has announced to spend 25 crore rupees on renovating and developing the British Raj ‘Bantony Castle' as a major tourist attraction.
• The castle is one of the historic and monumental buildings located on Mall Road Shimla town and a fine example of the Anglo-Gothic architecture.
• The Bantony Castle, owned by a business family and housing the state police headquarters, was acquired by the government for over 27 crores two years ago.
• The 'Aaj Purani Rahon Se' scheme started by the state government looks at exploring folklores, historic events and cultural tourism in the state.

MPC to meet for three days from June 4

• The Reserve Bank has advanced the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) by a day to 4th June this year.
• It is for the first time that the MPC will meet for three days instead of the usual two.
• Now, the Second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy meeting for 2018-19 will be held on 4th to 6th June instead of 5th to 6th June.

Note:

• The MPC was set up by amending the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, through the Finance Act 2016.
• The six-member MPC, headed by the RBI Governor, sets the benchmark interest rate.

Gujarat govt to launch free treatment scheme for road accident victims

• Gujarat government has launch free treatment scheme for the road accident victims.
• Under this scheme, the state govt. will bear medical expenses of up to 50,000 rupees for each victim of the road accident in the state for the first 48 hours.
• Free treatment includes dressing of wounds, X-ray, blood transfusion, treatment in ICU and MRI, and all other treatment available in a hospital.
• People hailing from other states (or citizens of other countries) will get free treatment regardless of their income if they meet with a road accident and admitted to a government or a private hospital in Gujarat.

India's 1st solar powered Railway station in Guwahati

• The ‘Guwahati railway station’ has become India’s first station to run fully on solar energy.
• In April 2017, a 700 KWp solar power plant was set up over the roof of the Guwahati railway station.
• The plant has generated (Between April 12, 2017, to May 10, 2018) 7,96,669 KWh of power (saved Rs 67,71,687 worth of electricity) while the average output daily is about 2,048 KWh.
• As per Indian Railways, the project cost is estimated to be Rs 6.7 crore.

Honour & Award

8. Anindita honored with Jayadev Rashtriya Yuva Puraskar award

• The US-based Kathak dancer Anindita Anaam has been honored with the prestigious 'Shri Jayadev Rashtriya Yuva Pratibha Puraskar 2018' for outstanding contribution to the field of art.
• The award was presented to the Kathak exponent during the four-day 'Jayadev International Dance Festival', organized under the aegis of Odisha's culture department and National Culture Mission.
• Anindita is a regular performer and Kathak instructor in Wisconsin with an aim to popularise the dance form globally.
• She has been part of many cultural festivals where she blended traditional Kathak with other world forms like jazz and ballet.

Sports

India beat Malaysia to reach women's Asian Champions Trophy final

• India (Defending champion) breezed into the summit clash of the women's Asian Champions Trophy Hockey after edging past Malaysia 3-2 at Donghae City (Korea). 
• It was their third consecutive victory after having defeated Japan (4-1) and China (3-1) in previous encounters.
• Now, India tops the table with nine points and will next take on Korea (hosts) in their final pool match.

Himanta Biswa Sarma elected as Vice-President of Badminton Asia Confederation

• The Himanta Biswa Sarma (President of Badminton Association of India) has been elected as the Vice-President of Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC).
• The election took place during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the continental body in Bangkok, Thailand.
• The Badminton Asia (or, Badminton Asia Confederation) is one of the 5 continental bodies under the flag of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to govern Badminton in Asia, headquartered in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.