31 May 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. PM Narendra Modi takes oath for the 2nd consecutive term
- Narendra Damodardas Modi was sworn-in as the Prime Minister for the second time at a grand and star-studded ceremony in the sprawling forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan.
- During the ceremony, Apart from PM Modi, 57 ministers administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind
- There are 24 cabinet ministers including Rajnath Singh, BJP President Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, D V Sadanand Gowda, an, Ram Vilas Paswan,, Narendra Singh Tomar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Thanwar Chand Gehlot, Ramesh Pokhriyal, Arjun Munda, Smriti Irani, Harsh Vardhan, Prakash Javadekar, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Prahlad Joshi, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Arvind Sawant, Giriraj Singh and Gajendra Shekhawat.
- Nine leaders took oath as minister of state with independent charge.
- 24 leaders who took oath as the minister of state.
- The glittering ceremony was witnessed by a galaxy of leaders, diplomats, industrialists and prominent personalities from various fields.
Note:
- The function was attended by leaders from BIMSTEC countries and foreign envoys, Governors, Chief Ministers, Opposition leaders, corporate heads and film stars.
- Maithripala Sirisena(President of Sri Lanka), U Win Myint(President of Myanmar), Md. Abdul Hamid(President of Bangladesh), Dr Lotay Tshering(Prime Minister of Bhutan), K P Sharma Oli(Prime Minister of Nepal), Grisada Boonrach(Special Envoy of Thailand), Sooronbay Jeenbekov (President of the Kyrgyz Republic,) and Pravind Jugnauth (Prime Minister of Mauritius) witnessed the event.
Source: DD News
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2. Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari sworn in for the second term as president
- Muhammadu Buhari (76-year) has been sworn in for a second term as Nigeria's president, following a campaign that focused on tackling security threats and rooting out corruption.
- He did not make a speech during the low-profile event attended by members of the diplomatic community.
- Mr. Buhari won 56% of the votes to defeat his main challenger, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 2019 election.
Source: Aljazeera
3. Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba retired today
- Today, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba has retired on completion of his tenure.
- He is retiring after over four decades of distinguished service.
- During his tenure as the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Lanba set the tone for several transitions in operational, training and organizational philosophy of the Indian Navy.
- Admiral Lanba has also steered the implementation of the new transition cycle which facilitated the improvement of the overall readiness of ships and submarines in undertaking operational tasking and Mission-Based Deployments.
- Today, Vice Admiral Karambir Singh (Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command) has taken over as the Navy Chief (24th chief).
Source: AIR News
Important Days
4. World No-Tobacco Day being observed today
- World No-Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed every year across the world on 31st May.
- This day highlights the health risks associated with consumption of all forms of tobacco and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.
- The focus of World No Tobacco Day 2019 is on "tobacco and lung health."
- The campaign will increase awareness of:
- the negative impact that tobacco has on people’s lung health, from cancer to chronic respiratory disease,
- the fundamental role lungs play for the health and well-being of all people.
Note:
- In 1988, WHO’s World Health Assembly had passed a resolution calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on 31st May.
National Affairs
5. Aroma Mission launched in Meghalaya
- The Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad K Sangma has launched the Aroma Mission and Processing Unit of Essential Oil at Byrwa in Ri-Bhoi district to boost Agriculture and allied sector in the state.
- The Aroma mission has been launched for Rs 18 crore to strengthen the livelihood condition of farmers and create employment opportunities in the state.
Source: Shillong Times
6. Song 'Hawa Aane De' launched to spread awareness about Air pollution
- Union Environment Ministry has launched the song 'Hawa Aane De' to spread awareness about Air pollution.
- The song was launched by Secretary, Ministry of Environment C K Mishra ahead of the World Environment Day on 5th of June.
- This year the theme of Environment Day is ‘Air Pollution’.
- The awareness of the environment should be carried out around the year and the centre has launched the National Clean Air Programme to control and reduce air pollution across the country.
7. Govt making all its payments through digital means, says Finance Secretary
- According to Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, digital technology has enabled the people by making payments more convenient, effective and less costly.
- The government is making all its payments through digital means and transferring the amount to the bank account of beneficiaries.
- The government is moving towards another level of financing using new technology as the traditional model was costlier.
Source: DD News
International Affairs
8. The United States removes India from its Currency Monitoring List
- The US Treasury Department has removed India as well as Switzerland from its currency monitoring list of countries having potentially questionable foreign exchange policies.
- Removal of India from the currency watch list radar is a positive development, which otherwise could have ultimately led to a tag of being a currency manipulator.
- Now nine major trading partners continue to be placed on Treasury’s ‘Monitoring List’ of major trading partners that merit close attention to their currency practices.
- These countries are China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore.
- Countries which indulge in manipulating the currency exchange rate for gaining unfair competitive advantage in international trade often end up with the tag of a currency manipulator.
Source: AIR News
9. US-UAE defence agreement comes into force
- The United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced that mutual defence cooperation agreement (DCA) has come into force, amid increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran.
- The DCA defence cooperation agreement (DCA) will enhance military coordination between the United States and the United Arab Emirates, further advancing an already robust military, political, and economic partnership at a critical time.
- The United States and the United Arab Emirates share a deep interest in promoting prosperity and stability in the region.
- The DCA will advance that interest by fostering closer collaboration on defence and security matters and supporting efforts by both nations to maintain security in the Gulf region.
- US national security advisor John Bolton was in Abu Dhabi yesterday, meeting his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
- This came on the eve of emergency Arab and Gulf summits called by Saudi Arabia to discuss the stand-off and ways to isolate Tehran.
Source: AIR news
10. Saudi Arabia lifts the export ban on fruits and vegetable from Kerala
- Kerala's fruits and vegetable exporters have heaved a sigh of relief following the lifting of the export ban by Saudi Arabia after the Nipah virus attack last year.
- Kerala has received a communication in this regard from the Saudi Arabian authorities that has led to the commencement of direct exports from the state.
- With the lifting of the embargo, Kozhikode airport was alone handling 20 tonnes of fruits and vegetables per day valued at $50,000 to various destinations in Saudi.
- A similar proportion has also been moving from the other two airports of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram to Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah airports.
Source: Business Line
11. Israel to hold fresh polls as Netanyahu fails to form coalition govt
- Israeli lawmakers voted to dissolve Parliament and hold fresh elections after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition before a midnight deadline.
- He became the first prime minister-designate in Israel's history who was unable to form a government.
- Israeli lawmakers voted 74-45 in favour of dissolving the 21st Knesset (Israeli Parliament).
- The repeat general elections will be held on September 17.
- Netanyahu's victory in the April 9 polls securing him a record fifth term proved temporary.
Source: AIR News
