07 May 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Trump Awards Highest US civilian Honor to Tiger Woods

US President Donald Trump presents the Presidential ‘Medal of Freedom’ to Golfer Tiger Woods (43-years) during a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington.
Woods is only the fourth and the youngest golfer ever to have received the highest American civilian award.
Tiger Woods is considered one of the greatest golfers of all time.
Mr Woods won the Masters tournament last month, his first major title since the 2008 US Open, capping a remarkable comeback from personal turmoil and physical injuries.

Note

The Medal of Freedom is America’s highest honour for civilian accomplishment.
Presidents can award the medal of freedom to any person, living or dead, who have made “an especially meritorious contribution” to the security or national interest of the United States, world peace, or to a significant public or private endeavour.
President Truman first established the medal to honour extraordinary civilian accomplishments related to World War II.

Source: The Hindu

2. Israel Honours 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War Hero Lt. Gen JFR Jacob

Israel honoured Lt. Gen. (retd) Jack Farj Rafael (JFR) Jacob, with a plaque on the Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill.
Lt. Gen. (retd) JFR Jacob negotiated the historic surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka after the 1971 Bangladesh’s liberation war.
Ammunition Hill was a fortified Jordanian military post in the northern part of Jordanian ruled East Jerusalem.
Lt. Gen. Jacob (died in 2016 at the age of 92 years) served as a Lieutenant General in the Indian Army and later as a Governor of two Indian states-Goa and Punjab.

Note:

The Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill pays tributes to the heroism and courage of Jewish soldiers who fought in the defence of their countries they lived in “implementing values of bravery, loyalty, commitment and dedication to a mission, leadership, creativity, camaraderie and sanctity of life”.

Source: The Economic Times

Important Days

3. World Asthma Day being observed today

World Asthma Day is being celebrated every year on the first Tuesday of May to increase awareness about asthma and aims to improve the lives of people with asthma across the world.
Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs which causes breathing problems.
Asthma usually appears through symptoms like coughing, tightness in the chest, breathlessness.
The theme for this year World Asthma Day is ‘Stop for Asthma’.

Note:

In 1998, The first World Asthma Day was celebrated in more than 35 countries in conjunction with the first World Asthma Meeting held in Barcelona, Spain.

Science & Defence

4. Japanese private firm sends the first rocket into space

A Japanese aerospace startup funded by a former internet maverick successfully launched a small unmanned rocket ‘MOMO-3’ into space from a test site in Taiki on the northern Japanese island of Hokkiado.
According to Japanese aerospace startup Interstellar Technology, its 10-meter (32-foot) craft reached an altitude of about 100 kilometres (60 miles) before splashing down into the Pacific Ocean.
The successful flight lasted about 10 minutes and came after two failed launches by the same company in 2017 and 2018.
It is the first commercially developed Japanese rocket to reach orbit.

Source: Japan Today

5. Indian Navy launches fourth Scorpene class submarine

Indian Navy’s fourth stealth Scorpene class Submarine Vela of Project 75 has been launched at the Kanhoji Angre Wet Basin of Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The submarines are being built at Mazagon Dock Limited, with the main collaborator being M/s Naval group, France.
The submarine has been named ‘Vela’ after an earlier submarine, which was the lead submarine, of the erstwhile Vela class, the second batch of the Foxtrot class submarines acquired from erstwhile USSR.

Note:

INS Vela was first commissioned on 31^st August 1973 in the Indian Naval service and continued to serve for 37 years.
According to MDL statement, It was the oldest submarine of the country when it was decommissioned on 25^th June 2010.

Source: AIR News

6. INS Ranjit decommissioned at Visakhapatnam

Rajput class destroyer ‘INS Ranjit’ was decommissioned at a solemn grand ceremony at Naval Dockyard at Visakhapatnam.
The Decommissioning Ceremony was graced by 16 officers and 10 sailors from the commissioning crew and 23 erstwhile Commanding Officers.
The ship commissioned on 15 September 1983 by Captain Vishnu Bhagwat in erstwhile USSR has rendered yeoman service to the nation for 36 years.
The ship since her commissioning has sailed for 2190 days covering a distance of over 7,43,000 nautical miles.
The ship has been at the forefront of major naval operations and has the distinction of serving on both Eastern and Western seaboards.
Apart from various naval operations like Op Talwar and various multinational exercises, the ship has also been a flag bearer of the Indian Navy benign role by participating in relief operations post Tsunami in 2004 and Hud-hud on 2014.

Source: AIR News

7. Chandrayaan-2 to be launched in July this year

According to ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), India's second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 will be launched on a day between 9 and 16 July this year.
Chandrayaan-2’s lander will touch down near the Moon's south pole on 6th September.
The National space agency said Chandrayaan-2 will have three modules in it, an orbiter, a lander named Vikram and a rover known as Pragyan.
Chandrayaan-2 will be launched using India's most powerful rocket GSLV-Mark-3.

Source: The Hindu

National Affairs

8. e-Governance Services India ties up with IIT-Kanpur to upscale Unnat Bharat Abhiyan

Common Service Centre’s (CSC) e-Governance Services India Limited has tied up with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur to upscale ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’.
Under the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, IIT-Kanpur has brought together 15 leading higher education institutions from Uttar Pradesh.
These institutes will adopt gram panchayats and equip them with all citizen-centric services through CSCs.

Note:

‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ is an initiative of the Ministry of HRD to find solutions to accelerate sustainable growth in rural India.

Source: The Business Line

9. Last captive white tiger Bajirao dies at 18

The last captive white tiger ‘Bajirao’ at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai died at the age of 18.
He was suffering from chronic ankylosis on the left shoulder and chronic senile generalised arthritis for the last four years.
The tiger’s autopsy carried out by the pathology department of BVC indicated multiple organ failures along with old age as the probable cause of death.

Note:

Bajirao was born in Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in 2001 to tigress Renuka & tiger Siddharth, brought from Aurangabad Zoo in 1999.

Source: The Hindustan Times

10. Vodafone Idea signs multi-million Dollar IT deal with IBM

Information Technology major ‘IBM’ announced signing a multi-million-dollar with Vodafone Idea Limited to deliver an enhanced customer experience to millions of connected consumers and businesses in India.
This partnership will offer Vodafone Idea with a hybrid cloud-based digital platform to enable engagement with its 387 million subscribers.
The new infrastructure platform would help remove constraints to the exponential growth of data usage driven by increasing consumption of video, streaming and digital commerce.

Source: Business Today

11. CEA included in finance panel’s advisory council

Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian has been included in the Advisory Council of the 15th Finance Commission as its member.
Subramanian will be the twelfth member of the Council.
The Advisory Council was set up in April 2018 to advise the commission on any issue or subject related to the terms of reference (ToR) of the commission.
It also helps on matters pertaining to fiscal devolution and improving the quality and reach and enforcement of its recommendations.

Source: Business Standard

12. Bombay Stock Exchange appoints first independent woman Director

M Jayshree Vyas has been appointed as the first independent woman director of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
She is a qualified chartered accountant
Jayshree Vyas was working as Managing Director (MD) of Shree Mahila Sewa Sahakari Bank, Ahmedabad, since 1986.
She played a pivotal role in the launching of the first financial literacy programme in Sewa Bank in 2001.

Note:

The Companies Act of 2013 mandates a certain class of companies to have at least one woman director on board. SEBIs, in compliance with the Companies Act 2013, made it compulsory to have at least one woman on board from October 2014.

Source: The Economic Times

Sports

13. Chess: TePe Sigeman & Co International tournament begins in Sweden

In chess, the TePe Sigeman & Co International tournament begins in Malmo, Sweden.
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin (14-years) is training his sight to become the youngest Indian to break the 2600 rating barrier from this event.
According to the World Chess Federation (FIDE), the tournament will have eight players with an average rating of 2663, making it a Category 17 tournament.
India’s No. 2 Grand Master Pentala Harikrishna will open his campaign against Persson while Nihal is set to meet Saric in the opener.

Source: AIR News