09 May 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

09 May 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. 158th birth anniversary of Tagore being celebrated today

• Today, the 158th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore is being celebrated all over West Bengal.
• Rabindra Nath Tagore reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• The West Bengal Government has organised a special musical programme in Kolkata to pay tributes to Gurudev Tagore.

Note:-

• Rabindranath Tagore was the Author of the "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse" of Gitanjali.
• He became in 1913 the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: India's Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh's Amar Shonar Bangla.
• Tagore is sometimes referred to as "the Bard of Bengal".

Source: AIR News

2. 5th United Nations Global Road Safety Week

• The Fifth United Nations (UN) Global Road Safety Week is being held from 6 to 12 May 2019.
• The theme for the weekly event in 2019 is “Leadership for road safety”.
• The UN Global Road Safety Weeks and its’ campaigns are coordinated by United Nations Road Safety Collaboration, chaired by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Source: unroadsafetyweek.org

International Affairs

3. Singapore passes laws to combat fake news

• Singapore has passed laws to combat fake news that will allow authorities to order the removal of content despite fierce criticism from tech giants, the media and rights groups.
• The new laws give government powers to order social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to put warnings next to posts that authorities deem to be false and in extreme cases get them taken down.
• If an action is judged to be malicious and damaging to Singapore's interests, companies could be hit with fines of up to 735,000 US dollars. Additionally, individuals could face jail terms of up to 10 years.
• The laws have sparked outrage from rights groups who fear they could stifle online discussion.

Source: AIR news

Banking and Finance

4. SBI Card raises Rs. 700 crores from banks

• SBI Card raised Rs. 700 crores from several financial institutions including its parent State Bank of India (SBI) in the second half of FY19.
• SBI Cards and Payment Services Pvt. Ltd (SBI Card) raised Rs. 100 crores from ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Ltd, Rs. 250 crores from State Bank of India and Rs. 50 crore each from Canara Bank and Axis Bank by issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs) at 9.15% coupon.
• The company also raised another Rs. 250 crores from Axis Bank through a coupon of 9.55%.
• According to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, as on February 2019, HDFC Bank was the market leader in terms of the number of outstanding credit cards at 12.48 million.

Source: Live Mint

Obituaries

5. Former billiards player Derek Sippy passes away

• Former billiards player, coach and administrator Derek Sippy (60-years) passed away in Mumbai.
• He served the BSAM in various capacities and was its secretary for several years.
• He was the Indian team's coach at recently concluded Asian Under-21 Boys Snooker and Asian Women Snooker tournament in Chandigarh.

Source: Business-standard

6. The first Chronicler of Partition Prof. Kirpal Singh passes away

• The first chronicler of Partition Prof. Kirpal Singh (95-years) passed away in Chandigarh.
• Prof. Singh started building an archive in 1954,
• He began his journey in Partition’s historiography in 1953 as a young lecturer at Khalsa College, Amritsar.
• The turning point came in 1962 when then chief minister Partap Singh Kairon offered to send him to the UK to collect papers related to Punjab.

Source: The Tribune

7. Dr. NR Madhava Menon passes away

• Father of Modern Legal Education, Prof N.R. Madhava Menon (84 years) has passed away
• He is known for changing the face of Indian legal education by pioneering the establishment of National Law Schools.
• He is credited with the conceptualization of five-year integrated LLB course, in place of the earlier 3-year course
• Menon was bestowed with the Padma Shri in 2003 for his outstanding contribution to public services.
• A book "Turning Point" published by Universal Law Publishers, Delhi (2010) is on the life and works of Prof. Menon.

Source: ND TV

National Affairs

8. Drug firm Merck Ltd renamed as Procter & Gamble Health Ltd

• Drug firm Merck Ltd has been renamed as Procter & Gamble Health Ltd.
• The name has been changed following P&G's global acquisition of the consumer health business of Merck KGaA, Germany.
• The company has received approval from the Registrar of Companies, Mumbai, Maharashtra, for change of name from Merck Ltd to Procter & Gamble Health Ltd.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

9. IIT-B researchers develop ‘Made in India’ microprocessor

• Engineers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) have developed a microprocessor called AJIT, the first to be conceptualised, designed, developed and manufactured in India.
• It can be used inside a set-top box, as a control panel for automation systems, in a traffic light controller or even robotic systems.
• The project was funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and IIT Bombay.
• Mumbai-based company ‘Powai Labs‘ invested in the venture, and will own, market and support the product.
• In the first stage, AJIT has been manufactured in the government-owned Semiconductor Laboratory, Chandigarh.

Source: The Hindu

10. Vice President Naidu embarks on 4-day visit to Vietnam

• Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will embark on a four-day official visit to Vietnam.
• The visit is expected to enhance India’s comprehensive strategic partnership with the Southeast Asian nation.
• The Vice President will participate in the 16th United Nations Day of Vesak at Tam Chuc pagoda in Vietnam's northern Ha Nam province.
• During his visit, Mr Naidu will also deliver the keynote address at the inaugural session of the event themed as "Buddhist Approach to Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Sustainable Societies."

Note:

• Vietnam is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula, known for its beaches, rivers, Buddhist pagodas and bustling cities.

Source: AIR News

11. SC Collegium recommends names of Justices Gavai, Surya Kant for elevation as apex court judges

• The five-member Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has recommended the names of Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant to the Centre for their elevation as apex court judges.
• Currently, Justice Gavai is Judge of the Bombay High Court and Justice Kant is the incumbent Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
• The apex court is presently functioning with 27 judges against the sanctioned strength of 31 judges.

Source: AIR News