05-06 May 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. King Maha Vajiralongkorn crowned Rama X of Thailand
- Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn (66-year) has been crowned with a golden-tiered headpiece, the highlight of an elaborate three-day coronation ceremony two years after he ascended the throne.
- Vajiralongkorn was handed the 7.3kg Crown of Victory, which he placed on his head before issuing his first royal command.
- Vajiralongkorn became king in October 2016 when his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, died after ruling for 70 years.
- The king was joined by new Queen Suthida after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for the fourth time.
- King Vajiralongkorn is the tenth monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782.
- The monarchy of Thailand refers to the constitutional monarchy and monarch of the Kingdom of Thailand (formerly Siam).
- The King of Thailand is the head of state and head of the ruling Royal House of Chakri.
2. Justice Ravindra Bhat becomes CJ of Rajasthan High Court
- The senior most judge of the Delhi High Court Justice Shripathi Ravindra Bhat was sworn in as new Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court (36th).
- Justice Bhat was administered the oath office by Governor Kalyan Singh at a special function in Raj Bhawan in Jaipur.
- He was appointed as an additional judge of the Delhi high court in 2004 and became a permanent judge on February 20, 2006.
- The Rajasthan High Court was established on 21 June 1949 under the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949.
3. Paytm president Bhushan Patil resigns
- President at Paytm Bhushan Patil has quit the company.
- Patil's exit marks one of the most senior leaders (joined Paytm in March 2016) leaving the company in recent times.
- Initially, he was responsible to look after Paytm’s cross border commerce business.
- With Patil's departure, the remaining team of Paytm Mall in Bengaluru will move to Noida.
- This would mean, largely the travel business and wealth management business 'Paytm Money' would be housed in Bengaluru.
- Paytm was founded in August 2010 with an initial investment of USD 2 million by its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma in Noida.
4. Pakistan appoints ex-IMF official as new SBP governor
- Pakistani economist Dr Reza Baqir has been appointed as the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for a period of three years.
- He will replace Tariq Bajwa, who was removed from his post.
- Currently, Dr Reza Baqir (Harvard and Berkeley University of California alumnus) is serving in the IMF as senior resident representative to Egypt.
- The government also appointed Ahmed Mujtaba Memon as the chairman of the FBR - the tax collection body.
- The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is incorporated under the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956, which gives the Bank the authority to function as the central bank of the country.
Important Dates
5. World Laughter Day: 5 May 2019
- World Laughter Day is being observed worldwide on the first Sunday of May every year (5th May 2019).
- It is a day to raise awareness about laughter and its many healing benefits.
- The first time this day was celebrated on May 10, 1998, by Dr. Madan Kataria (founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement) in Mumbai.
International Affairs
6. Sri Lanka lifts a temporary ban on social media platforms
- In Sri Lanka, the temporary ban on several social media platforms has been lifted.
- Meanwhile, security operations continue all over the country as secondary schools opened today for the first time after attacks, but attendance has been reported low.
- Government primary schools up to grade 5 are scheduled to open next week.
- Security arrangements are being made at every school and the public has been asked not to park cars close to schools.
- At least 257 people, including 42 foreigners, were killed when nine suicide bombers attacked eight locations including five-star hotels and churches all over the country.
7. Nepali girl dances for 126 hours straight to set new World Record
- Nepali danced Bandana Nepal (18-years) dances continuously for 126 hours to set a Guinness World Records on "Longest Dancing Marathon by an Individual" at a function in Kathmandu.
- Bandana Nepal broke the record set by India’s Kalamandalam Hemlatha who danced continuously for 123 hours and 15 minutes (in 2011).
- Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli honoured the girl Bandana Nepal for achieving the feat.
Banking and Finance
8. GST collections touch an all-time high of over Rs 1.13 lakh crore in April
- The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection scaled an all-time high of over 1.13 lakh crore rupees last month, up from 1.06 lakh crore rupees in the previous month.
- According to Finance Minister statement, out of the total gross GST revenue collected in April, Central GST is 21 thousand 163 crore rupees, State GST is 28 thousand 801 crore rupees, Integrated GST is 54 thousand 733 crore and cess is 9 thousand 168 crore rupees.
- The total number of summary sales return GSTR-3B filed for the month of March up to 30th April stood at 72.13 lakh.
- 12 thousand crores have been settled from the balance IGST available with the Centre on a provisional basis in the ratio of 50:50 between Centre and States.
- The total revenue earned by the central government and state governments after regular and provisional settlement in April 2019 is 47 thousand 533 crore rupees for CGST and 50 thousand 776 crore rupees for SGST.
- The CGST collection in 2018-19 was 4.25 lakh crore rupees, while compensation cess was over 97 thousand crore rupees.
- The Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue last month is 16.05% higher than the monthly average of 98 thousand 114 crore GST revenue in 2018-19.
9. Foreign exchange reserves rise by 4.3 Billion
- According to RBI data, the country's foreign exchange reserves soared by USD 4.368 billion to USD 418.515 billion in the week to April 26.
- Foreign currency assets rose by USD 4.387 billion to USD 390.421 billion.
- According to the data Gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 23.303 billion.
- The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund was down by USD 5.9 million to USD 1.449 billion.
- The country's reserve position with the Fund also declined USD 13.6 million to USD 3.341 billion.
- Foreign exchange reserves (FX reserves) are the foreign currencies held by a country's central bank.
- They are also called foreign currency reserves or foreign reserves.
- Reserves are held in one or more reserve currencies, mostly the United States dollar and to a lesser extent the Euro.
Foreign exchange reserves
Ranks | Country | Foreign exchange Reserves (millions of US$) | Figures as of |
1 | China | 3,099,000 | March 2019 |
2 | Japan | 1,218,763 | February 2019 |
3 | Switzerland | 800,389 | May 2018 |
4 | Saudi Arabia | 504,754 | March 2019 |
5 | Russia | 490,900 | 19th April 2019 |
8 | India | 418,515 | 26th April 2019 |
10. RBI imposes fines on PPIs for violating norms
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed penalties on five prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers, including Vodafone m-pesa and PhonePe, for violation of regulatory norms.
- RBI has imposed the penalty of Rs 29,66,959 and Rs 10,11,653 on Western Union Financial Services Inc, USA, and MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc, USA, respectively, for non-compliance of regulatory guidelines.
- In another statement, the RBI said, a penalty of Rs 3.05 crore was imposed on Vodafone m-pesa and Rs 1 crore each on Mobile Payments, PhonePe, Private and GI Technology.
- Also, a penalty of Rs 5 lakh has been imposed on Y-Cash Software Solutions.
National Affairs
11. India to purchase 10 Kamov-31 Choppers from Russia for INR 3,600 cr
- The defence ministry has approved the procurement of 10 Kamov Ka-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control helicopters for the Indian Navy.
- The cost of the deal would be around Rs 3,600 crore.
- The 10 helicopters would be deployed on the aircraft carriers and warships of the Navy including the INS Vikrant and Grigorovich-class frigates.
- The Kamov Ka-31 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy and currently in service in Russia, China and India in the naval airborne early warning and control role.
Sports
12. Indian boxers win six medals at 36th Feliks Stamm International Boxing
- Indian boxers finished with a rich haul of six medals, including two gold at the 36th Feliks Stamm International Boxing Tournament in Warsaw, Poland.
- Solanki (22-years) out-punched England's William Cawley 5-0 in 52 kilograms on his way to the coveted yellow metal.
- Kaushik beat Morocco's Mohamed Hamout 4-1 in 60 kilograms weight category.
- Indian boxers also clinched a silver and three bronze.
13. Saurav & Joshna win Asian Individual Squash Ch'ship titles
- Ace Indian squash players Saurav Ghoshal and Joshna Chinappa won their respective Asian Individual Squash Championship titles in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Saurav Ghoshal defeated Leo Au Chun Ming (Hong Kong) 11-9, 11-2, 11-8 to win the men's title.
- Joshna Chinappa retained her title as she beat top seed Annie Au (Hong Kong) 11-5, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6 in the women's final event.
- Ghoshal who had become the first Indian male player to reach top ten of the world rankings is the finalist of the previous edition.
- The FMC Asian Individual Squash Championships (first held in 1981) are the event which serves as the individual Asian championship for squash players organised by the Asian Squash Federation.
- The event took place at the National Squash Centre in Kuala Lumpur from 1 to 5 May 2019.