18 May 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

18 May 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Madan B Lokur appointed judge of Supreme Court of Fiji

• Justice Madan B Lokur (Retired Indian Judge) has been appointed to the Supreme Court of Fiji as a judge of its non-resident panel.
• He will join the office from August 15, 2019 and has been appointed for a term of 3 years.
• He was appointed as judge of Supreme Court of India on 4 June 2012. He retired as Supreme Court judge on 31 December 2018, after a term of more than 6 years.

Source: Business Standard

2. BharatPe ropes in Salman Khan as brand ambassador

• Merchant service and UPI payments app ‘BharatPe’ has roped in Bollywood actor Salman Khan as its brand ambassador.
• Mr. Khan will be focused towards educating merchants and users about UPI payments along with driving adoption of BharatPe app for all their business needs.
• The company is on an aggressive growth spree and will be launching a brand advertising campaign with Khan shortly.
• The new brand campaign with Khan will be focused towards educating merchants and users about UPI payments along with driving adoption of BharatPe app for all their business needs.

Note:

• BharatPe has raised three financing rounds worth USD 17.5 million till date from investors like Insight Partners, Sequoia and Beenext.
• BharatPe offers merchants a single interface for all UPI apps like Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM, Mobikwik, Freecharge and others.

 Source: Business Today

Honours & Awards

3. Anil Kapoor to be felicitated by Council of European Chambers of Commerce

• Bollywood Actor Anil Kapoor will be felicitated by the Council of European Chambers of Commerce (CEUCC) in India and European Union delegation as part of the Europe Day celebrations in Mumbai.
• Europe Day is celebrated every year on 9^th May to mark the formation of the European Union (EU).
• The actor will be honoured for his decade-long support to promoting the cause of children’s rights and his collaboration with the EU and Plan India in their girls’ rights endeavours.

Source: News 18

Banking and Finance

4. HDFC Capital launches 'HeART'to mentor real estate technology companies

• HDFC Capital Advisors (a subsidiary of HDFC Ltd) has launched a new initiative called 'HDFC Affordable Real Estate and Technology Program (HeART) to mentor, partner and invest in real estate technology companies.
• The HeART will support businesses which are innovating and building technology solutions to enhance the supply of affordable housing.
• As part of the HeART initiative, it will provide a platform to real estate technology companies with innovative products aimed at creating efficiencies and lowering costs in each part of the development cycle of a real estate project.
• This shall be an ongoing initiative that aims to foster collaboration between technology companies and the real estate sector and thereby create value for the entire affordable housing chain.

Source: The Hindu Businessline

5. Tech Mahindra partners with France based firm Rakuten Aquafadas

• IT services firm Tech Mahindra and Rakuten Aquafadas (French digital content publishing firm) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on building enhanced customer experience offerings.
• Rakuten Aquafadas and Tech Mahindra aim to build a Customer Experience Offering leveraging the suite of software that Rakuten Aquafadas provides for digital publishing.
• Tech Mahindra will bring its deep domain experience across industry verticals, expertise across Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing making it simpler, faster and better for the customers to go digital and to enhance the customer experience.

Source: Business Line

International Affairs

6. 2020 United Nations Ocean Conference to be held in Lisbon

• The second edition of the United Nations Ocean Conference will be held in Lisbon, Portugal in early June 2020.
• United Nations Ocean Conference will support the sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources,
• The first edition was held in the United States in 2017.
• The theme of the 2020 conference will be- Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions.

Source: Business Standard

7. Taiwan becomes the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage

• Taiwan has approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, a landmark decision that makes the self-ruled island the first place in Asia to pass gay marriage legislation.
• The successful bill includes limited adoption rights for same-sex couples.

Source: Washingtonpost

National Affairs

 8. Kailash Manasarovar Yatra to begin from 8th June

• The annual Kailash Manasarovar Yatra (organized by the External Affairs Ministry) will be held from 8th June to 8th of September.
• There will be 18 batches consisting of 60 Yatris via the Lipulekh route, and 10 batches consisting of 50 Yatris via the Nathu La route which is fully motorable and involves very little trekking.
• This year 2996 applicants (2256 male & 740 female) had successfully registered online at the website for the Yatra.
• Vijay Gokhale (Foreign Secretary) conducted the computerized draw for the selection of Yatris who had registered for the Yatra.

Kailash Mansarovar Yatra:

• Devotees of Lord Shiva visit the snow-clad peaks in the Himalayas to pay him a visit and seek his blessings.
• It is open to eligible Indian citizens, holding valid Indian passports, who wish to proceed to Kailash-Manasarovar for religious purposes.

9. Lokpal website launched by Chairperson Justice Pinaki Chandra Bose

• The Lokpal website ‘www.lokpal.gov.in’ has been launched by the Lokpal Chairperson Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose in presence of all the Members of Lokpal in New Delhi.
• The Website has been developed by NIC & provides basic information with respect to the working and functioning of the Lokpal.
• Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose was appointed as the first Chairperson of the Lokpal and his oath was administrated by President Ram Nath Kovind.

Note:

• The Lokpal has been established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 to inquire and investigate into allegations of the corruption against public functionaries who fall within the scope and ambit of the above act.
• The office of Lokpal is temporary functioning from the Hotel Ashok, in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.

Source: ANI

10. Israel proposes India to be the focus country in Jerusalem Film Festival, 2020

• Israel proposes India to be the focus country in Jerusalem Film Festival, 2020 at Cannes Film Festival.
• Indian delegation met Ms Eti Cohen, Director of Film Department and Council, Israel who announced the recommendation.
• Israel also proposed the idea of making concept-based films in India, with a focus on regional and small budget films.
• India has been positioned prominently on the Pocket Guide of Marche Du Film, Cannes Film Market, which celebrates Indian cinema as the world’s largest film industry.

Source: AIR News

11. NSG commandos summit Mt Everest in maiden attempt

• Commandos of the premier counter-terror force National Security Guard (NSG) scaled the Mount Everest (world’s highest peak) in their maiden attempt.
• A seven-member team of NSG, led by Lt Col J P Kumar, successfully unfurled the Indian flag at the 8,848-metre tall peak.
• The NSG commando team was flagged off by Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba on March 29 from New Delhi.
• This is the first expedition of the NSG to the Mount Everest and the force has been preparing for it since 2017.

Source: Business Standard

Obituaries

12. Former swimming champion M B Balakrishnan passes away

• Former Swimming Champion MB Balakrishnan (29-years) passed away in road accident in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• He won the 100m and 200m backstroke events at the South Asian Games.

Sports

13. International Army Games to be held in India for the first time in Rajasthan

• India will host a part of the International Army Games at Jaisalmer to promote cordial relations with the participating countries (from 24 July to 17 August 2019).
• The event will witness the participation of the Mechanised Infantry Scout Teams of eight countries including Russia who is the founding member of this format of International Army Games.
• International Army Games is an international military sports event organised by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation since 2015 and is participated by around 32 countries.
• The 2019 event will be held in 32 disciplines and hosted by 10 countries including Russia, India, China, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Source: AIR News

14. Cricket World Cup 2019 teams to have dedicated anti-corruption Officer

• The International Cricket Council has appointed a dedicated anti-corruption officer attached with all the 10 participating teams to deliver a corruption-free tournament.
• The officials will be assigned to a team from the warm-up matches to the end of the competition, staying in the same hotel as the players and travelling with them to training and matches.
• Prior to this, ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit had anti-corruption personnel deployed at each venue.

Note:

• The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup is the 12th edition of the tournament that is scheduled to be hosted by England and Wales from 30 May to 14 July 2019.

Source: The Hindustan Times